LNG News Editor:
SNAM, the Italian gas grid operator and liquefied natural gas import terminals owner, is progressing with the replacement and financing of natural gas pipelines to strengthen South-North infrastructure.
This main line is scheduled to be renovated by 2026, while the secondary lines are scheduled to be renovated by the end of 2027.
The whole Ravenna-Chieti gas pipeline consists of 292 kilometres (182 miles) of main pipeline and 133km of secondary lines and ensures natural gas transportation to the areas along the Adriatic coastline, from the province of Ravenna to the province of Chieti, affecting Emilia-Romagna, Marche and Abruzzo.
SNAM said the use of trenchless technologies combined with environmental restoration activities at the end of the project, will preserve the surrounding environment and vegetation and enable the complete reconstruction of the area's original natural and landscape conditions.
Distribution networks
The pipeline directly serves 130 delivery points to the distribution networks, two connection points with other transportation networks, 64 industrial users, three power generation plants, and 59 natural gas stations for motor vehicles, for a total volume of approximately 1.6 billion cubic metres per year.
The pipeline also collects production from nine small Italian natural gas fields with a total annual volume of around 0.9 Bcm.
“The project will strengthen the infrastructure dedicated to transporting natural gas from southern to northern Italy and will also allow for hydrogen transportation,” SNAM explained.
The Italian development bank, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), has granted SNAM a loan linked to the achievement of sustainable targets for an overall amount of €200 million ($216M) to renovate the Ravenna-Chieti section of the natural gas pipeline.
SNAM is schedule to deploy a floating storage and regasification unit for LNG imports to Ravenna on the East Coast in addition to the FSRU “Golar Tundra” which has been operational on Italy’s West Coast port of Piombino in Tuscany since July 2023.
SNAM also operates the onshore Panigaglia LNG facility on the northwest coast near Genoa and which has been in service since 1969.
The grid operator additionally has a controlling stake in the “FSRU Toscana” currently in docks for major maintenance.
The FSRU is expected back on station in October 2024 off the West Coast Italian port of Livorno.
Adriatic Backbone
SNAM noted that it had already been granted a €300M loan for pipelines from the CDP a year ago for the “Adriatic Backbone” project, the new gas pipeline currently under construction which aims to increase the transportation capacity of entry points located in southern Italy and backed by European Union investment.
The Ravenna-Chieti pipeline will be connected to this infrastructure.
“The SNAM pipelines are an example of crucial infrastructure which once completed will strengthen the national gas network, also with regards to the energy transition,” said Carlo Lamari at the CDP.
In an additional development Edison SpA of Italy, another prominent energy company in the gas and electricity supply markets, confirmed talks were taking place to sell its natural gas storage facilities to SNAM.
Edison said it was negotiating for SNAM to purchase the Edison storage subsidiary Edison Stoccaggio.
Successful completion of the talks would give SNAM control of gas storage facilities located in Cellino (Teramo), Collalto (Treviso) and San Potito e Cotignola (Ravenna), with a total storage capacity of about 1 billion cubic metres per annum. Edison itself is part of France’s EDF group.
SNAM has additionally signed a new sustainability-linked credit line for a total amount of €1 billion, which is compliant with the new group’s Sustainable Finance Framework published in February 2024.
“The credit line is structured as a committed and revolving facility linked to sustainability targets, with the applicable margin dependent on the achievement of these targets and a maturity of three years,” said SNAM.
The credit line was granted by leading French and Italian banking groups including BNL BNP Paribas, Banco BPM, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo (IMI CIB Division) and UniCredit acting as joint mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners.
