Zenith "delighted" as revenues soar at Torrente Cigno in Italy
London-listed Zenith Energy said on April 4 that electricity production from its Torrente Cigno gas and condensate-to-power concession in Italy is generating more revenue than ever before, boosting the company's "associated profitability".
Zenith, which has upstream assets in Tunisia, Italy and Congo-Brazzavile, uses low-grade natural gas output from Torrente Cigno to typically produce around 900MWh/month in electricity. But it sold around 10% more than usual (1,015 MWh) in March and generated around €300,000 of net revenue, on the back of an average realised electricity price of around €295/MWh. Zenith's net production costs are fixed at around €35,000/month.
The rise reflects surging Italian wholesale energy prices for households and businesses that have caused a political headache for the government in Rome. Italy's regulatory authority for energy ARERA said February 16 that power and gas prices had risen by 94% and 131% year/year.
Zenith says it believes Torrente Cigno could hold "significant" development potential, and is currently finalising plans for a second development well at its acreage. The company reported having 991mn ft3 of proven natural gas reserves in Italy as of March 2021, in addition to 11mn barrels of condensate.