Prospex warns of delays at Italy's Selva field
London-listed Prospex Energy said on October 26 that the planned start-up of the Po Valley-operated Selva gas field in Italy had been delayed until the first half of 2023.
Prospex earlier reported the field would come online in mid-2022, flowing at an initial rate of 150,000 m3/day. But the company said today that it had been informed by Italian gas transmission operator Snam of a delay to the field's tie-in to the national gas grid.
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The setback is partly the result of supply chain disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Prospex said. The gross cost of the project has also increased from €2.3mn to €2.65mn ($3.1mn), owing to a 15% increase in the cost of materials, namely steel.
Prospex said it expected its intergovernmental agreement for Selva's development to be approved by the regional government by the end of the year. A full production concession should be granted in the first quarter of 2022, the company said.
"It is disappointing that the revised schedule for the tie-in works for our 4-inch pipeline to the national gas grid will delay the delivery of first gas from this project at a time when Europe is facing an unprecedented energy crisis and a shortage of gas," Prospex CEO Mark Routh said. "We have asked Po Valley Energy, as operator, to engage with Snam to seek an acceleration of the tie-in works to the national grid network."