Italian energy giant Snam’s CEO has welcomed the European Commission's green light for investment for Italy's largest LNG terminal, Adriatic LNG.
Earlier this year, energy storage group VTTI agreed to buy a 70% stake in Adriatic LNG, with grid operator Snam increasing its stake to 30%, as ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy sold their stakes the plant.
The LNG terminal is located about 15 km off the Veneto coastline and has a regasification capacity of 9 bill cu m of gas per year.
It is considered to be key infrastructure for Italy's energy security after the import of LNG increased significantly to replace the gas that used to flow via pipeline from Russia before the invasion of Ukraine.
The EC said it had approved the joint acquisition by Snam and VTTI, saying the deal would not raise competition concerns.
Snam CEO, Stefano Venier said in a statement that the closing of the transaction was expected at the beginning of December.
