This year, Italy will be independent of Russian gas by the end of 2023, the European country's economy minister Adolfo Urso said, pointing to two regasifiers on LNG carriers, one of which has arrived in the port of Piombino, which will allow the country to rely instead on countries like Algeria, Azerbaijan and Libya for gas, Fena agency reports, citing Euroactive. After 26 days of sailing from Singapore, the LNG tanker Golar Tundra, which can process five billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas per year, has finally arrived at the port of Piombino (Province of Livorno).

Together with another ship, which is expected in Ravenna, it is predicted that they will have a total capacity of 13 billion cubic meters per year. During this year, Italy will be able to "completely get rid of its dependence on Russian gas," Urso told Radio24.

"We went from 40 percent Russian gas in 2021 to 16 percent last year and with these two ships we will succeed in our goal," he added. As for energy prices, the minister said there is "no alarm in sight" as stocks are currently full due to a very mild winter.

He added that the agreement on price restrictions reached in Brussels ensured a gradual reduction of world prices. Snam Fsru Italia CEO Elio Ruggieri said the first test shipment would arrive at the end of April.