LNG

SNAM, the Italian gas gid operator and liquefied natural gas import terminals owner, said it was moving forward on plans for a fifth LNG regasification facility at the Adriatic port of Ravenna.

SNAM has already started the construction of the associated facilities for the new Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) to be deployed at Ravenna.

A meeting in Ravenna involving SNAM Chief Executive Stefano Venier, the utility’s Chief Operating Officer Massimo Derchi as well as the Mayor of Ravenna, Michele de Pascale, as part of a public conference outlined progress on bringing the FSRU “BW Singapore” to Ravenna.

The FSRU is the second purchased by SNAM to improve Italy’s energy security and will be operational by the end of 2024.

The ship will provide the country with an additional 5 billion cubic metres of gas, in addition to those already supplied by the FSRU “Golar Tundra” which has been operational on Italy’s West Coast port of Piombino in Tuscany since July 2023.

Municipal benefits

SNAM said that Ravenna would also benefit from hosting the FSRU and helping with Italy’s energy security by having backing for town and regional projects.

“These works will enable the Municipality to carry out significant interventions in various areas, from urban regeneration to sustainable mobility, from reforestation to energy saving with a total commitment of €10 million (€10.7M),” said SNAM.

“At the peak of activities, more than 1,200 people will be employed, involving over 100 suppliers from the province of Ravenna and the Emilia Romagna Region, with contracts assigned to local companies in the Ravenna area amounting to over €300 million ($320M),” the company added.

“During the Ravenna conference, SNAM also provided an update on progress of the works for the first carbon-capture and storage (CCS) project, which will make the Ravenna hub one of the world's largest sites for CO₂ storage and the largest in the Mediterranean,” the company added.

Built in 2015, the “BW Singapore” will be able to store 170,000 cubic metres of LNG, regasify it then have it transferred into a new pipeline connected to the connection point with the National Gas Pipeline Network located around 42 kilometres (26 miles) from the FSRU mooring point.

Bunkering

Ravenna is already the location of a small-scale LNG bunkering station established under the European Union's clean fuel policies.

Spanish LNG terminals and gas grid operator Enagás and Italian utility company Edison are among the shareholders in the small-scale facility serving the LNG trucking and ship bunkering sectors.

In addition to the Piombino FSRU terminal on the west Coast, SNAM already operates the onshore Panigaglia LNG facility on the northwest coast near Genoa and which has been in service since 1969.

The grid operator also has a controlling stake in the “FSRU Toscana” moored off the West Coast Italian port of Livorno.

The new FSRU facility at Ravenna will be in the same area as the Adriatic LNG terminal

Adriatic LNG terminal is majority-owned by US major ExxonMobil and with QatarEnergy also a shareholder.

The Adriatic terminal is a gravity-based structure located 15 km (9.3 miles) off the Veneto coastline and SNAM is a 7.3 percent shareholder in the facility.

Saipem, the Italian energy and LNG engineering company, was awarded a contract by Italian gas system operator SNAM for the construction of the associated facilities for the new Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) to be located in the Adriatic Sea offshore Ravenna as Italy’s fifth import terminal.

May 31 (LNGJ) - OLT Offshore LNG Toscana, the company that owns the floating LNG import terminal off the port of Livorno, has received authorization to increase its annual regasification capacity from the current 3.75 billion cubic metres to about 5 Bcm per year.

   “Thanks to the decree issued on May 26 OLT will be able to receive up to 122 small-scale LNG carriers per year to carry out the small-scale LNG supply service,” said the company. Giovanni Giorgi, Chief Executive of OLT Offshore, said a new chapter was beginning almost 10 almost after the start of operations at the terminal “Thanks to the increase in the authorized regasification capacity and in the number of berths for small-scale LNG carriers, and as part of the new small-scale LNG service, the ‘FSRU Toscana’ will be able to increase its contribution to diversification and security of supply,” added Giorgi.

Energy ministers of the Group of Seven industrial nations met in the Japanese city of Sapporo on April 15-16 under the revolving chairmanship with Japan as host and issued a hodge-podge statement of aims including one pledging to back new natural gas projects but reduce fossil fuel needs over time.

Italy’s Societa Nazionale Metanodotti (SNAM), or National Pipeline Company, said its natural gas storage subsidiary had ended the year with nearly 40 percent more gas in storage than at the same time last year as usage was lower and power companies used alternatives to gas in the energy mix.

Sept 20 (LNGJ) - The 174,000 cubic metres capacity vessel “Gaslog Greece” has entered the Mediterranean and is scheduled to discharge a US cargo this week at Italy’s largest terminal, the offshore Adriatic facility, according to shipping data. The terminal is co-owned by ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy. The “Gaslog Greece” lifted the cargo on August 29 from the Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana, operated by Cheniere Energy.

Italy's gas grid and LNG terminal group SNAM has signed an accord with Italian utility company Edison, a subsidiary of French power operator Électricité de France, to develop small-scale LNG projects focused on the Mediterranean.

July 6 (LNGJ) - OLT Offshore LNG Toscana, the owner of the floating storage and regasification unit “FSRU Toscana” deployed offshore Livorno, has named Elio Ruggeri as Chairman and confirmed Giovanni Giorgi in the role of sole Chief Executive. The company also thanked outgoing CEO Maurizio Zangrandi, who had shared the role of Co-CEO with Giorgi.

   “I am honoured to assume the position of Chairman of OLT, an infrastructure that more than ever represents a reference point for the country in terms of security and diversification of energy supplies,” said Chairman Ruggeri. CEO Giorgi thanked Zangrandi for their positive and constructive collaboration. “I extend my sincere thanks to the company for the trust they have granted me again,” added Giorgi.

Adriatic LNG, the company operating the biggest LNG regasification terminal in Italy offshore the northeast coast, has launched the accreditation phase for its Open Season 2022 for European and international operators.

Algeria and Italy said they had signed an agreement for the North African nation to supply more natural gas to European Union member Italy to replace falling supplies from Russia.