Italian utility Ascopiave SpA (ASC.MI) said Monday that a consortium in which it has a stake has signed a deal with OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) to receive natural gas supplies from the Russian company for the next 10 years.
In a statement, Ascopiave said the consortium, called Sinergie Italiane, will buy from Gazprom 1 billion cubic meters of gas a year for the first three years. The supply will drop to 500 million cubic meters annually for the remaining seven years, it added. Supplies will start Oct. 1.
Sinergie Italiane is made up of some local Italian utilities, including Enia SpA (EN.MI), that decided to join forces to secure better gas deals and boost efficiency.
Sinergie Italiane, which is run by Ascopiave, estimates it will need 5 billion cubic meters of gas a year when it is fully operational, while the forecast for 2009-10 is for demand to be more than 4 billion cubic meters.