Italian energy company Eni has started gas production from the Argo Cassiopea field, which the company claims is the most important gas development project in Italy.
The gas comes from one of the four subsea wells drilled in recent months in the Strait of Sicily and has been transported through a 60-kilometre subsea pipeline to the Gela processing plant. The gas will then be processed and then fed into the national grid, contributing to Italy's energy needs.
The Argo Cassiopea production project, operated by Eni in joint venture with Energean, has begun production just three years after the start of works. Eni said production is carried out entirely under the sea, with no visual impact and near-zero emissions. A dedicated installation of 3.6 MWp of photovoltaic panels will ensure the project achieves carbon neutrality for Scope one and two emissions.
Argo Cassiopea's reserves are estimated at around 10 billion cubic metres of gas, with peak annual production expected to reach 1.5 billion cubic metres of gas.