Italy picks former Terna CFO Scornajenchi to run gas grid group Snam
MILAN, April 17 (Reuters) - The Italian government has chosen a former top manager of power network company Terna (TRN.MI), opens new tab, Agostino Scornajenchi, to succeed Stefano Venier as CEO of gas grid group Snam (SRG.MI), opens new tab, state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) said on Thursday.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing administration controls Snam through CDP. Venier was appointed when the previous government led by Prime Minister Mario Draghi was still in power.
Scornajenchi, who served as Terna's chief financial officer for six years until November 2023, currently heads the venture capital division of CDP.
Snam's shareholders are expected to approve CDP's proposal at a meeting on May 14.
Under Venier, who served a three-year mandate, Snam helped reduce Italy's dependence on Russian gas by setting up two new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and boosting supplies from North Africa and Azerbaijan.
Venier also clinched a deal with Edison EDNn.MI to buy three gas storage sites and started work to boost the network's transport capacity from southern to northern Italy to increase the flexibility of the national gas infrastructure.
Snam is a partner of energy major Eni (ENI.MI), opens new tab in Italy's first carbon capture and storage project and has won the support of the European Commission for building a grid to transport green hydrogen to northern Europe.
The group - which derives the bulk of its profit from regulated activities including gas, LNG transport and storage management - posted a 14% yearly increase of its adjusted core profit last year to 2.75 billion euros ($3 billion).
($1 = 0.8800 euros)
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Daily Record
22 minutes ago
- Daily Record
UK to build up to 12 new nuclear-powered attack submarines in major defence shake-up
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Scotsman
2 hours ago
- Scotsman
UK to build up to 12 new attack submarines and invest £15bn in warheads
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South Wales Guardian
7 hours ago
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UK to build up to 12 new attack submarines and invest £15bn in warheads
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'With new state-of-the-art submarines patrolling international waters and our own nuclear warhead programme on British shores, we are making Britain secure at home and strong abroad, while delivering on our Plan for Change with 30,000 highly skilled jobs across the country.' The £15 billion investment into the warhead programme will back the Government's commitments to maintain the continuous-at-sea nuclear deterrent, build a new fleet of Dreadnought submarines and deliver all future upgrades. From the late 2030s, the fleet of up to 12 SSN-Aukus conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines will replace seven astute class attack submarines the UK is due to start operating. In response to the strategic defence review, the Government will also commit to: – Getting the armed forces to a stage where it would be ready to fight a war – Boosting weapons and equipment stockpiles and making sure there is capacity to scale up production if needed in a crisis or war – Buying up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons in a move due to support 800 defence jobs – Setting up a new cyber command and investing £1 billion in digital capabilities – More than £1.5 billion of additional funding to repair and renew armed forces housing. Sir Keir Starmer will say: 'From the supply lines to the front lines, this Government is foursquare behind the men and women upholding our nation's freedom and security. 'National security is the foundation of my Plan for Change, and this plan will ensure Britain is secure at home and strong abroad, while delivering a defence dividend of well-paid jobs up and down the country. 'This strategic defence review will ensure the UK rises to the challenge and our armed forces have the equipment they need that keeps us safe at home while driving greater opportunity for our engineers, shipbuilders and technicians of the future.' The Conservatives and Lib Dems questioned Labour's commitment to funding the promises it was making. The Government has previously set out its 'ambition to reach 3% in the next parliament', after meeting its pledge to ratchet up defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by April 2027. Mr Healey had said there was 'no doubt' the UK would reach 3% in an interview with The Times. But on Sunday, he sidestepped questions about whether he had any guarantee from the Treasury to provide the funding when asked on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme. He said he does not expect to increase the number of people in the armed forces until the next Parliament amid a recruitment and retention crisis. 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Lib Dem defence spokesperson Helen Maguire said: 'This signals absolutely the right intent about the need to bolster the UK's defences in the face of Putin's imperialism and Trump's unreliability. 'But this must come with a concrete commitment and detail on full funding. 'Labour's mere 'ambition' rather than commitment to reach 3% of GDP on defence leaves serious questions about whether the money for these projects will actually be forthcoming. 'The 2034 timeline suggests a worrying lack of urgency from the Government. 'Unless Labour commits to holding cross-party talks on how to reach 3% much more rapidly than the mid-2030s, this announcement risks becoming a damp squib.'
