Dow Jones: Italy Won't Develop Shale Gas as Plans National Production Boost

Italy doesn't want to develop shale gas because of environmental concerns and as it aims to double its conventional hydrocarbon output, a government energy official said Thursday.

"We aim to up national production [of conventional hydrocarbons] to 14% [of our total energy needs] by 2020 from 7%," said Leonardo Senni, the industry ministry's head of the energy, at a conference in Rome.

"This [increased conventional hydrocarbon production] would add 0.5 percentage point to gross domestic product."

There are no plans to develop shale gas in Italy because of environmental issues and because its potential in the country is limited, Mr. Senni said.  MORE