Shell ready to invest more in Italy if drilling permits unlocked

By Francesca Landini

ROME (Reuters) -Shell is ready to invest more in Italy to boost hydrocarbon production, the head of the energy group's Italian unit said on Wednesday, urging the government to allow new drilling.

Shell currently spends some 500 million euros ($578 million) a year in Italy, and is the leading foreign investor in its upstream sector. However, its hydrocarbon production in Italy is shrinking as it awaits authorisation for new wells in the two concessions where it operates.

"The potential is far greater than what we invest now... we could invest significantly more," Shell Country Chair for Italy Joao Santos Rosa said at an event in Rome.

The London-listed group produces oil and gas in Europe's two largest onshore fields, Val d'Agri and Tempa Rossa, both in the southern Basilicata region.

Santos said if new wells are authorised, Shell could double production at the Eni-operated Val D'Agri field to 80,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from around 40,000 boed currently.

Tempa Rossa, which is operated by TotalEnergies and involves Japan's Mitsui, is also currently underutilised, producing around 30,000 boed, according to Shell.

In 2024, Shell accounted for 85% of Italy's national oil production and 36% of its national gas output. It also makes lubricants, sells renewable power to industrial clients, supplies petrol stations and has energy trading activities.

($1 = 0.8652 euros)

(Reporting by Francesca Landini, editing by Alvise Armellini and Jan Harvey)