Germany and Italy are among the largest importers of natural gas for industrial and household consumption in Europe. They are both being hit severely by the war against Iran, albeit in different forms: while Italy has lost one third of its imports in one shot, Germany has suffered the spike in gas prices to unsustainable levels.
Italy was the main European importer of gas from Qatar (nearly 35% of its total gas imports). This source has now been shut down by the combined destruction of production facilities and the Strait of Hormuz blockade. Rome has compensated 80% of the loss by doubling imports from Algeria and Kazakhstan, whose pipelines are now running at 100% capacity. Additionally, it has increased imports from the USA, whose price for natural gas on the Amsterdam exchange TTF has jumped to 53-60%/MWh. Two floating regasifiers, the ships which convert Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) back to natural gas, have been added to the national pipeline, which is running at full capacity and cannot accommodate more LNG imports. However, at least one regasifier in Ravenna, is hampered by difficult weather conditions. The LNG Italy buys at the TTF costs exactly double the price it paid for the Qatar gas.
