Italy's Bureaucracy Paralyzes Energy Development

One project has been held up for 11 years

Italy's plans to double domestic production of oil and gas to slash its energy bill and boost economic growth face stiff headwinds from the kind of chronic red-tape that has left one major project paralysed by 11 years of paper shuffling.

In a draft copy of a new national energy policy, seen by Reuters, the government said it wants to take hydrocarbon output to 14 percent of overall energy needs by 2020 from the present 7 percent, mobilizing investments of around 15 billion euros ($19 billion).