Po Valley Energy Limited (“Po Valley” or “the Company”) provides an update on
recent environmental legislation that has become effective in Italy.
The new Environmental Decree 2024 (Legislative Decree n.153/2024) (“Decree”) was published
in the Italian government’s Official Gazzette on 17 October 2024 and will be converted into law
by Parliament within 60 days. The Decree aims to provide regulatory certainty for hydrocarbon
exploration and production whilst balancing security of supply with environmental protection.
The Decree is particularly relevant to Po Valley’s 100%-owned offshore asset, Teodorico.
The Decree provides allowances for the award of natural gas production concessions within a
defined area of the Adriatic Sea, if application had been made prior to the Decree’s
enforcement and provided that the gas reserves exceed 500 million cubic meters.
The area defined as suitable for production includes the stretch between the parallel passing
through the mouth of the Goro branch of the Po River, the Po di Goro line, and the parallel
15km to the south of the latter and with a distance of at least 9 nautical miles from the
coastline. Po Valley’s Teodorico project is exactly located within this defined area.
The Teodorico field has proven (1P) gas reserves of 766 million cubic meters (27 Bcf) 1 and the
Company holds a preliminary production concession granted in 2016 2 and Environmental
Impact Assessment approval granted in March 2021.
Accordingly, the project satisfies the
requirements of the Decree’s provisions and is well positioned within this updated regulatory
framework.
The proposed Teodorico development plan will also take advantage of its strategic location to
Eni’s existing offshore gas processing facility, Naomi Pandora, which is 12km south-east of
Teodorico. Under this proposed plan, gas produced at Teodorico would be dispatched at Naomi
Pandora.
Furthermore, this new legislation, along with the existing Energy Decree introduced in 2023
(Legislative Decree n.181/2023), strengthens the framework for natural gas supply security in
Italy. The combination of these factors enhances the potential for the Teodorico project and
provides the Company greater clarity in evaluating its options to maximise the value of its
Teodorico asset either via a joint venture or sale.
This announcement was approved for release by the Board of Directors of Po Valley Energy Limited
