Italy To Shed Russian Gas Imports By Building Two FSRUs

Italy plans to boost its LNG import capacity to 27 billion cubic meters from nearly 17 bcm currently as it seeks to completely replace Russian gas supplies.

In 2021, Moscow provided Rome with 29 bcm of gas via pipelines, equal to around 40 percent of Italy’s total imports but Russian supplies have fallen in recent months to around 10% of total imports.

According to Reuters, Italy, which can now count on three LNG terminals, has mandated gas grid operator Snam to buy and set up two additional floating storage and regasification units (FSRU) near the cities of Piombino and Ravenna.

Reuters added that a timely start for the Piombino FSRU was crucial to allow Italy to fill gas storage facilities in time for winter 2023. An Italian administrative court said on Thursday it had ruled against a request for a precautionary halt on works at Piombino.

It could still decide to stop the project at a hearing it has scheduled on March 8 to assess longer-term safety issues relating to the floating terminal.

The new site at Piombino, located on Italy’s west coast, will consist of a new moored FSRU dubbed ‘Golar Tundra’ in the port of Piombino for the next three years, before moving it offshore. The FSRU will have an annual regasification capacity of 5 bcm.

As for the Ravenna site, located on the Adriatic Sea, it will use the ‘BW Singapore’ FSRU moored some 8 kilometers off the coast of Ravenna. This FSRU also has a regasification capacity of 5 bcm per year and is expected to become operational at the end of 2024. The new FSRU has secured all the green lights needed.

Currently, Italy has several operational regasification terminals. One is in Rovigo in the northern Adriatic Sea and is considered Italy’s main regasification terminal. The terminal is about 15 kilometers off Porto Viro in the Veneto region and is managed by Italy’s Terminale GNL Adriatico. The facility has recently expanded its yearly regasification capacity to 9 bcm of gas.

The terminal, which started operations in September 2009, is 70.7 percent owned by ExxonMobil, with Qatar Energy and Snam controlling 22 and 7.3 percent, respectively.

Another LNG terminal, managed by OLT Offshore LNG Toscana, is moored about 22 kilometers off the Tuscan coast between Pisa and Livorno. The infrastructure, which was converted from an LNG carrier to an FSRU, currently has an annual capacity of 3.75 bcm.

In October 2022 the Tuscany region approved an upgrade of the terminal’s maximum regasification capacity to 5 bcm a year. Snam is the main investor in OLT Offshore LNG Toscana, with a 49.1 percent stake. Global asset manager Igneo Infrastructure holds a 48.2 percent stake while Golar LNG owns the remaining 2.7 percent.

The final currently operational regasification terminal Italy has is Panigaglia. It is an onshore facility located in Fezzano di Porto Venere in Italy’s northwestern Liguria region. It has an annual regasification capacity of 3.5 bcm of gas. Built in 1971, Panigaglia is the first regasification plant to be operational in Italy. The plant is owned and managed by Snam unit GNL Italia.

To contact the author, email bojan.lepic@rigzone.com