MILAN, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Italy plans to double its national gas production to 6 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year from the current 3 bcm, its industry minister said, in a further effort to cut the country's dependence on Russian supplies.
"One of our goals is to develop a plan that will make us as quickly as possible less dependent and will then turn us into the energy hub of the Mediterranean", Industry Minister Adolfo Urso told Il Messaggero daily in an interview published on Thursday.
The government will also authorise new offshore drilling in the Adriatic sea, he said, echoing the words of Italy's new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who said this week that Rome "has a duty to fully exploit" its offshore gas reserves to diversify energy sources.
