Regional seminar and Study tour “INOGATE Gas Cross Border Trading – EU Perspectives and main challenges” – Italy

Objective

The event was held in Venice and Milan and the study tour was of the SNAM dispatch centre at San Donato Milanese in Milan. The GIE conference was also in Venice.

The objective of this seminar was to build the necessary capacity amongst representatives from the gas TSOs and gas utilities in the PCs, so as to be able to discuss and analyse possible functionalities of EU practices as applied to gas cross border cooperation.

Another objective was to create the necessary familiarity amongst key technical stakeholders in the PCs (Technical experts Groups 0 - TEGs) in order to establish a platform for discussion and cooperation.

The seminar also aimed to link representatives from key technical stakeholders in the PCs with their counterparts in EU associations and understand the governance and administration of their cooperation platforms (as they are in force in the EU i.e. ENTSO-G, Energy Community, etc.).

Also included was a comprehensive training course on the key gas TSO competences.

The INOGATE GAS Cross-border Seminar included technical exchanges between the INOGATE Partner Countries (PCs) and experts involved in the EU Single Gas Market. The seminar focused on discussion and analysis of EU best practices on cross border cooperation in the gas sector and gave PC representatives  the opportunity to meet their counterparts in EU gas TSOs & associations.

Participants learned about the structure and facilities of the SNAM and the Italia Gas TSO. The SNAM  Dispatching Centre is a state-of-the-art gas network control centre which uses the most modern ICT systems for monitoring and remote control of the entire pipeline network of SNAM (over 32,000 km) including 11 compression plants and 8 storage plants.

Participants also had a unique opportunity to meet key EU gas players and learn about the latest gas infrastructure developments in the EU. The INOGATE team presented the project and potential investment opportunities in PCs' gas infrastructure through which the more than 400 participants in the conference learned more about current projects in INOGATE PCs.

Participants learned about the EU’s 3rd Energy Package, CBT platforms in Europe the establishment and functioning of European TSO organisations. The visit to the SNAM showed participants how to develop their own organisations in compliance with European requirements.

Participation in the Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) Annual Conference gave TSOs networking opportunities with 350 European gas stakeholders and allowed them to exchange experiences on gas markets and prices, gas cross-border trade and gas infrastructure projects and investment.

The immediate impact of this event was evaluated through a specific survey before and after the event. The analyses show that the participants intend to apply their acquired knowledge and skills in their daily work and will disseminate the knowledge within their organisations. Particular topics of interest were the gas restructuring process (Ukraine), approximation of energy (gas) policy with the EU (Georgia), the introduction of new technologies in dispatching services and personnel training of the control centres (various PCs).