Italy plans to nearly double its national gas production to 6 bcm/year from the current 3.3 bcm (2021), in an effort to further cut the country’s dependency on Russian gas supplies. As part of the plan, Italy intends to authorise new offshore drilling in the Adriatic Sea as the government seeks to fully exploit its offshore gas reserves (which stood at 45 bcm in 2021) to diversify energy sources. The country, which aims to position itself as an energy hub for the Mediterranean, will rely on both existing and new gas pipelines, notably on the 10 bcm/year extension to the EastMed project, called Poseidon, which is owned by a joint venture between the Italian energy group Edison (EDF subsidiary) and Greece’s gas grid operator DEPA. Italy imported 95% of its gas needs in 2021 (76 bcm), and in 2020, 43% of its gas imports originated from Russia.