Our Story
About Po Valley Energy
Po Valley Energy Limited (ASX: PVE) is an Italian-focused gas and condensate development company. PVE is an explorer and developer of natural gas for domestic consumption in Italy, one of the major gas producers in Southern Europe. The Company and its Rome-based management team has operated in Italy for the past 20 years through its wholly owned subsidiary, Po Valley Operations (PVO). PVO is the title holder of all the licences and permits.
PVE has substantial experience in Italy’s regulatory process and has successfully managed each stage of the exploration and production business. The company has brought several licenses to production after shepherding them through the regulatory process. These have subsequently been transferred and several of these fields are currently producing.
PVE is active in Italy’s main onshore gas production fields of Po Valley in the north of Italy, where it owns a portfolio of valuable natural gas fields. Gas has been produced in the Po Valley since 1945, initially exclusively by Eni (30% owned by the Italian Government). PVE is also active in offshore gas fields in the Adriatic Sea.
Our Opportunities
PVE’s current priority is to develop two of its fields to be production-ready, Selva and Teodorico, which are fully drilled. Selva is on track to be bought into production in the first half of 2023, and Teodorico will become more valuable following development plan approval.
Mainland Italy is extensively served by 29,300km of gas pipeline networks spanning the country. There is a sophisticated market for exploration and production activities, including drilling, process plant design and fabrication, and maintenance and operations. The Podere Maiar (PM-1) discovery well in the Selva Concession is adjacent to the National Grid, with the tie-in to the pipeline only 1km away.
Company Overview
The Italian Gas Market
In 1998, the liberalisation of the Italian gas market occurred when new EU anti-monopoly regulation forced Eni-Agip to withdraw from much of its Italian operations. Eni returned the licenses for their gas fields to the Italian Ministry for Economic Development, who on-sold them to new operators. Currently, no single company can supply more than 55% of the natural gas consumed in Italy.
PVE was the first E&P Company to bring new production to the Po Valley region since the end of the Eni-Agip monopoly. Michael Masterman and Byron Pirola established the Company. Michael was an E&P specialist who saw the potential opportunity and was able to raise the capital for development. The Company was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange on 14 December 2004.
Italy is the third-largest European gas consumer after Germany and the UK, with demand steadily growing. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has created a current sense of urgency in Europe to enhance the domestic production of natural gas, with 92% of Italian gas consumption imported. The Italian Government issued an Energy Decree in March 2022 recommending an increase in natural gas production after years of decline. The Minister for Ecological Transition, Roberto Cingolani has said, “It is clear that all of Europe is heavily dependent on Russia for gas, and this has been a major geopolitical mistake made over the past 20 years”.
Of Italy’s gas consumption, 39% is residential and commercial, 34% energy, and 27% industrial. Natural gas is the largest contributor to Italy’s energy mix, accounting for 42% of total power production.
