Italy’s oil bill for 2005 soars to 21.6 billion euros

Italy this year will see its oil billsoar to 21.6 billion euros, a 4.6-billion-euro or 27 percent jump over 2004, sector sources said here on Thursday.

The Unione Petrolifera (UP), the organization which groups together Italy’s oil companies, added that Italy’s total energy bill for 2005 will hit a 20-year high of 36.5 billion euros, up seven billion euros from last year, and eat up 2.6 percent of the country’s GDP.