KEY POINTS
- Shell says it is ready to expand investment in Italy if the government approves long-delayed drilling plans.
- New wells could double production at Val d’Agri and increase output at Tempa Rossa, both key fields in Basilicata.
- The firm’s operations already make up the bulk of Italy’s oil output, but production has stalled due to regulatory delays.
Shell has signalled it is prepared to deepen its spending in Italy’s upstream sector, urging Rome to move ahead with long-pending approvals for fresh drilling that it says are essential to stem declining production.
The company, already the country’s largest foreign investor in oil and gas exploration, currently channels about 500 million euros a year into its Italian portfolio. Yet output has been slipping in the two Basilicata concessions where it operates, with new wells waiting on government clearance.
At a gathering in Rome, Shell’s country chair, Joao Santos Rosa, said the group was ready to deploy far more capital if the regulatory bottleneck eased. “The potential is far greater than what we invest now,” he told attendees, adding that authorisations for new wells would unlock production capacity that is currently being left dormant.
Growing pressure builds as Italy weighs its onshore drilling future
Shell holds stakes in Val d’Agri, operated by Eni, and Tempa Rossa, led by TotalEnergies with Japan’s Mitsui also involved. These two fields dominate Italy’s energy landscape, forming the backbone of the nation’s onshore hydrocarbon output. In 2024, operations run by Shell and its partners accounted for 85 percent of Italy’s oil production and 36 percent of its gas supply.
Santos Rosa argued that with additional drilling, the Val d’Agri field alone could lift production from around 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day to roughly 80,000 boe. Tempa Rossa, meanwhile, remains underutilised at about 30,000 boe a day, despite having capacity to deliver more if expansion is authorised.
The company’s footprint in Italy stretches beyond upstream operations. Shell Italia also manufactures lubricants, supplies renewable electricity to industrial clients, operates fuel retail stations and engages in energy trading activities.
For now, the industry is waiting on the government’s stance. Any approvals granted in the coming months would shape not just Shell’s investment profile, but the broader future of Italy’s onshore hydrocarbon sector, which has been navigating a fraught balance between energy security, environmental concerns and shifting political winds.
