Snam Confirms Italy's Second Floating LNG Terminal

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Italian gas grid operator Snam (San Donato Milanese, Italy) has confirmed spending plans of up to 1 billion euro (US$1.1 billion) on a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) offshore terminal near Ravenna in the north east of Italy.

Construction works to accommodate the new floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) "BW Singapore'' are underway. It will join Snam's first FSRU "Golar Tundra,'' which became operational in Italy's west coast port of Piombino in Tuscany in July. Both are designed to help Italy replace lost gas imports from Russia, which is under sanctions by the European Union (EU) following its invasion of neighboring Ukraine last year. The Ravenna FRSU is located on Italy's Adriatic coast to supply the country's industrial northern region and, when commissioned at the beginning of 2025, it will have an annual capacity of 5 billion cubic meters (Bcm) of gas. The gas will be transferred into a new pipeline connected to the National Gas Pipeline Network located about 42 kilometers from the FSRU.

"To increase energy security for Italy we decided last year, together with the government, to increase the country's LNG import capacity in order to have more flexibility and diversify energy supplies," said Stefano Venier, Snam's chief executive officer.

At a recent meeting with Ravenna officials, Snam stated: "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 euro (US$320 million)." Before the Russia-Ukraine war, Italy received 14 Bcm of gas from Russia in 2022, its second largest supplier after Algeria. The Italian government tasked Snam to deploy two FSRUs to add 10 Bcm in the coming years, which would boost the country's storage capacity from 17 to 27 Bcm.

Industrial Info is also tracking a major carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at Ravenna between Snam and Italian oil and gas major Eni (NYSE:E) (Rome, Italy). Ravenna CCS is positioned as the pioneering full-chain carbon project for Italy and the Mediterranean. It will be the first full capture, transport and storage chain in Italy and Phase 1 will set out to capture up to 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year from Eni's power and gas treatment plants before injecting it into depleted offshore gas fields. The project has received its CO2 storage license from Italian authorities and Phase 2, scheduled to start in 2027, will allow for the storage of 4 million tonnes of CO2 per year: 1 million tonnes will come from plants owned by Eni and the remaining 3 million tonnes will be reserved for third-party industrial emitters. Eni and Snam are in talks with hard-to-abate industries in the region (cement, steel, fertilizer and chemicals, among others). Letters of intent have been signed with five emitters located in the Ravenna industrial area. Industrial Info is tracking eight associated projects with a combined investment of US1.2 billion. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the report.

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