Snam

Snam S.p.A. is an Italian energy infrastructure company.

As of 31 December 2023, it had a market capitalization of €15,611 million. Snam was originally a subsidiary of Italian energy company Eni. It has since become an independent company, whose largest shareholder is CDP Reti, a holding company controlled by the Italian state. The utility operates in Italy and, through associated companies, in Austria (TAG, GCA), France (Terēga), Greece (DESFA), the UAE (Adnoc Gas Pipelines) and the United Kingdom (Interconnector UK and dCarbonX Limited). It is one of the main shareholders of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). Snam is the main Italian operator for the transport and dispatching of natural gas in Italy, having almost all the transport infrastructures in Italy, with 32,862 km of gas pipelines in operation in high and medium pressure (approximately 94% of the entire transport) and around 38,000 km including international activities. First in Europe for natural gas storage capacity (around 17 billion cubic meters, including international activities), the company is also one of the main continental operators in regasification for a total pro quota capacity of approximately 13.5 billion cubic meters per year. Snam is one of Europe's main regulated gas companies - leading Italy in gas transport and storage, while ranking third in regasification. Snam also aims to invest in new energy transition businesses to reduce environmental impact and decarbonisation: sustainable mobility (compressed – CNG – and liquefied – LNG – natural gas distributors, Small Scale LNG), energy efficiency, renewable gases such as biomethane and hydrogen. The company is listed on the FTSE MIB index of the Borsa Italiana since 6 December 2001.

Snam ensures the security of supplies and promotes the energy transition through investments in green gases (biomethane and hydrogen), energy efficiency, and CCS (Carbon capture and storage) technology. Additionally, the company creates new green areas through a benefit corporation focused on urban forestry projects.

Snam also aims to reduce direct greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2027, 40% by 2030, and 50% by 2032, with the goal of achieving carbon neutrality (100%) by 2040, compensating for emissions that cannot be eliminated through offsetting projects and involving subsidiaries and suppliers. Snam pursues net zero for all emissions (including indirect ones) by 2050. The Group is also working to reduce natural gas emissions from its assets: in 2023, Snam achieved a 55% reduction compared to 2015 and has set a target of 64% by 2027. The company’s business model is based on sustainable growth, transparency, talent and diversity development, and the social protection and development of local areas.

Snam was founded on 30 October 1941 in San Donato Milanese, Lombardy, with the name Società Nazionale Metanodotti, with participation from Ente Nazionale Metano (Agip), Regie Terme di Salsomaggiore, and Società Anonima Utilizzazione e Ricerca Gas Idrocarburati (SURGI). The objectives were the construction of methane pipelines, and the distribution and sale of gas. During wartime, methane became crucial for Italy, leading to the construction of the first methane pipeline bringing gas from the wells in Salsomaggiore (Parma) to Lodi and Milan.

With the Italian law of February 10, 1953, nr. 136, at the time of the establishment of ENI, the impact of methane production in the Po Valley remained significant, making the exclusive reserve on the exploration and cultivation of hydrocarbons granted to the state company in that area highly relevant. This was due to both the economic and industrial value of methane production in the Po Valley and its symbolic significance to the public. To protect the Italian state’s subsurface resources, AGIP had received exclusive rights to the area’s resources by virtue of an outdated mining law.

Structured into functional subholdings (AGIP mineraria for oil and methane exploration and distribution; AGIP for refining and selling petroleum products and methane; SNAM, Società NAzionale Metanodotti, for the transportation system; ANIC, for coordinating chemical activities), the ENI group was thus able to finance its growth through the sale of natural gas (methane rent), also stimulating the Italian economy by providing low-cost energy.

In 1955, Snam Montaggi was established, incorporating SAIP in 1957 and becoming Saipem. In 1956, Snam Progetti (later Snamprogetti) was founded for designing large onshore plants. In 2006, Saipem acquired all Snamprogetti shares from Eni.