In order to meet the medium and long-term demand for natural gas, in particular in the Italian market, Eni entered into long-term purchase contracts with producing countries. The residual average life of the Company's supply portfolio currently amounts to approximately 21 years. Such contracts, which generally contain take-or-pay clauses, will ensure a total of approximately 62.4 bcm/y of natural gas by 2010.
The finalization of the purchase of the Belgian company Distrigas (for details on this deal see Development Projects below) has entailed significant expansion of Eni's supply portfolio with an addition of long-term supplies of approximately 14.7 bcm (Norway, the Netherlands and Qatar) having a residual average life of about 14 years.

Eni's supply portfolio will be more diversified and less risky, as Eni will depend from one single supplier for about 20-22% of total projected supplies in 2012.

Despite the fact that an increasing portion of natural gas volumes is planned to be sold outside Italy, management believes that in the long-term unfavourable trends in the Italian natural gas demand and supply, also due to the increase in import capacity (pipeline upgrading and new LNG plants) that took place in 2008 and the closing of projects in progress or publicly announced by Eni and third parties, as well as the evolution of Italian regulations in the natural gas sector, represent risk factors to the fulfilment of Eni's obligations in connection with its take-or-pay supply contracts.

In 2008, main gas volumes from equity production derived from:

• Italian gas fields (7.5 bcm);
• the Wafa and Bahr Essalam fields in Libya linked to Italy through the GreenStream pipeline. In 2008 these two fields supplied 3.2 bcm net to Eni;
• fields located in the British and Norwegian sections of the North Sea (2.3 bcm); (iv) other European areas (in particular Croatia with 0.6 bcm).

Considering also the direct sales of the Exploration & Production division in Europe and in the Gulf of Mexico and LNG supplied from the Bonny liquefaction plant in Nigeria, supplied gas volumes from equity production were approximately 21 bcm representing 21% of total volumes available for sale.

In order to meet the medium and long-term demand for natural gas, in particular in the Italian market, Eni entered into long-term purchase contracts with producing countries. The residual average life of the Company's supply portfolio currently amounts to approximately 21 years. Such contracts, which generally contain take-or-pay clauses, will ensure a total of approximately 62.4 bcm/y of natural gas by 2010.
The finalization of the purchase of the Belgian company Distrigas (for details on this deal see Development Projects below) has entailed significant expansion of Eni's supply portfolio with an addition of long-term supplies of approximately 14.7 bcm (Norway, the Netherlands and Qatar) having a residual average life of about 14 years.
Eni's supply portfolio will be more diversified and less risky, as Eni will depend from one single supplier for about 20-22% of total projected supplies in 2012.
Despite the fact that an increasing portion of natural gas volumes is planned to be sold outside Italy, management believes that in the long-term unfavourable trends in the Italian natural gas demand and supply, also due to the increase in import capacity (pipeline upgrading and new LNG plants) that took place in 2008 and the closing of projects in progress or publicly announced by Eni and third parties, as well as the evolution of Italian regulations in the natural gas sector, represent risk factors to the fulfilment of Eni's obligations in connection with its take-or-pay supply contracts.