LNG

European spot natural gas prices followed futures prices lower to marks last seen in June 2021 just before energy security concerns entered the market and at least seven liquefied natural gas cargoes were heading for the UK even as the differentials widened in favour of Asian spot cargo values.

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.

OLT Offshore LNG Toscana SpA, the owner of the floating storage and regasification unit “FSRU Toscana”,  located offshore the West Coast of Italy, is auctioning a quantity of natural gas subject to various conditions.

The amount on offer is 101,400 megawatt hours under the conditions of a purchasing contract.

In addition, any bidders must have access to the Italian Virtual Exchange Point, the Punto di Scambio Virtuale (PSV), the national natural gas trading platform.

The Italian PSV is the sixth largest in Western Europe, after the Netherlands, the UK, Germany’s two trading points and the French platform, Trading Region France.

A second condition of the gas auction is that any buyer must have capacity access to the Italian natural gas transport system of Societa Nazionale Metanodotti (SNAM) Rete Gas SpA.

A final condition is that the documentation must be submitted from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon on 20 March 2020.

“Offers sent before or after this deadline will not be taken into consideration and will be automatically excluded,” said OLT Offshore.

SNAM agreed to acquire a controlling stake in the OLT Offshore LNG Toscana company in September 2019.

The vessel “FSRU Toscana” is moored 22 kilometres off the Italian coast between the cities of Livorno and Pisa.

It is connected to the Italian gas grid through a 36.5-kilometre pipeline from the shore.

SNAM acquired 49.07 percent of the share capital of OLT from Italian utility company, the Iren Group, and took joint control of the terminal with the global equity fund First State Investments.

The equity fund First State also bought German utility Uniper’s 48.24 percent stake in the facility in May 2019.

The only remaining original shareholders from the start-up of the LNG import project offshore Tuscany in 2013 is vessel owner Golar LNG with 2.69 percent.

Since operations began, the FSRU has handled LNG cargoes from 10 different countries, Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Qatar, Trinidad & Tobago and the United States.

The OLT Offshore facility  has traditionally provided national peak-shaving services to Italy with LNG cargoes.

SNAM said that is acquisition of OLT guaranteed industry expertise in the management of  a vital piece of infrastructure for the Italian energy system’s security and flexibility.

European natural gas trading in the day-ahead and month-ahead over-the-counter markets in London covering the eight major gas hubs in Europe soared more than 25 percent as prices plunged, according to the latest year-to-date figures.