Po Valley Energy files EIA for four-well Selva Malvezzi drilling program

EIA Moves Selva Forward

Po Valley Energy (ASX: PVE) says it has lodged an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) with Italy’s Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE) for a four-well drilling program at its Selva Malvezzi production concession.

Submitted on 26 June 2026 by wholly owned subsidiary and operator Po Valley Operations, the filing is a material permitting step for the next stage of development around the company’s existing Italian gas production hub.

The EIA covers the drilling, development and commissioning of four new wells within the Selva Malvezzi concession, where production is already established through the Podere Maiar 1 well.

Po Valley said management is targeting a 2027 drilling start, although that timing remains subject to Ministry assessment and approval rather than a fixed schedule.

Selva Hub and Partners

Selva Malvezzi is Po Valley’s core onshore natural gas asset in northern Italy and is held 63% by Po Valley Operations and 37% by Prospex Energy Group, with Po Valley acting as operator through its subsidiary.

At the centre of the asset is Podere Maiar 1, which has been in continuous production since July 2023 at approximately 80,000 Scm/day.

In its FY25 annual report, Po Valley said stable PM-1 output supported €7.05 million in revenue and €2.72 million in net profit after tax, with average daily production of roughly 75,000 to 80,000 scm/day.

That existing production history gives useful context for the latest filing.

The proposed wells are relatively close to Podere Maiar 1, so the EIA relates to an extension of an operating gas area rather than a greenfield prospect with no production track record.

Po Valley has also pointed to nearby infrastructure, with the four-well program targeting significant gas potential near the SNAM national pipeline, which management says could enhance local industry efficiency.

Program Scope and Numbers

The EIA covers the full chain for the proposed four wells—Casale Guida 1d, Ronchi 1d, Bagnarola 1d and Selva Malvezzi 1d—from drilling through to development and commissioning.

Supporting that program is a 140 square kilometre 3D geophysical campaign over the Selva area.

Po Valley said the data set is nearing completion and that interpretation will commence immediately after to build a high-resolution 3D subsurface model that is intended to inform the drilling program once Ministry approval is received.

The filing also provides reserve and resource context on a net 63% basis to Po Valley, with remaining gas reserves at Podere Maiar 1 listed as 1.07 Bcf in 1P, 6.81 Bcf in 2P and 17.2 Bcf in 3P reserves.

The company cited best-estimate prospective resources of 21.9 Bcf for Selva Malvezzi 1d, 24.4 Bcf for Riccardina, 5.6 Bcf for Selva level B Casale Guida 1d, 1.1 Bcf for Selva level A Ronchi 1d and 2.2 Bcf for Selva level B Ronchi 1d.

Next Approvals and Funding

The first point to watch is the outcome of MASE’s EIA assessment.

This is now the main regulatory gate before Po Valley can move from planning and technical interpretation into a firm drilling schedule.

The second is the seismic interpretation itself.

In quarterly reporting released in April, the company said processed 3D data was expected in Q2 2026 for in-house interpretation.

Today's filing says that work is nearing completion and is expected to feed into a higher-resolution subsurface model for well planning.

Funding is the other important piece.

In its March quarter update, Po Valley reported cash of €3.193 million at 31 March 2026 plus €6.0 million held in short-term Italian government bonds, for total available funding of €9.19 million.

The company also reported positive operating cash flow from PM-1, with quarterly net operating cashflow of €1.177 million.

Even so, Po Valley has stated that future drilling remains subject to available finance.

That means the market still lacks clear disclosure on how much the four-well program is expected to cost, how it would be staged, and whether internal cash generation would be sufficient to fund the full development campaign.

Permitting Step, Not Finish Line

PVE’s EIA filing is a meaningful advance for the Selva Malvezzi expansion because it moves the four-well program into formal regulatory review and builds on an existing producing gas hub.

But the market still needs Ministry approval, final seismic interpretation, and clearer disclosure on development costs, funding and expected production before the scale of the next growth phase becomes easier to judge.

Broader risk settings remain unchanged. with regulatory timing, execution, and commodity exposure key factors, the latter because the company does not hedge long-term gas prices.

Another watchpoint sits outside Selva itself.

Po Valley is also progressing a separate updated EIA for its offshore Teodorico asset following additional environmental requirements linked to a 2024 TAR ruling.

While unrelated to the Selva filing, it shows the company is managing more than one Italian approvals process at the same time.