12 Compulsory inventories

Compulsory inventories, amounting to €405 million (€405 million at 31 December 2010), are made up of minimum quantities of natural gas that the storage companies are obligated to hold pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 22 of 31 January 2001. The inventories correspond to approximately 5 billion standard cubic metres of natural gas, the overall measurement of which is determined annually by the Ministry for Economic Development.