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OLT Offshore announced on Monday that it has successfully completed the commissioning of the new small-scale LNG service.
Testing activities involved the bidirectional transfer of LNG between the 7,500-cbm LNG bunkering and supply vessel, Avenir Aspiration, operated by Axpo, to the FSRU and from the unit to the small carrier.
OLT said that the FSRU Toscana will be the first to provide this service in Italy.
Following loading operations, small-scale LNG carriers will then be able to refuel, directly at sea, LNG-fueled vessels, or discharge the fuel at coastal storage facilities in major Mediterranean ports.
In addition, it will be possible to receive LNG from small LNG carriers to be regasified and fed into the grid, according to OLT Offshore.
With the launch of this service, OLT is “confirmed as a strategic hub for the development of maritime bunkering and the LNG supply chain.”
In 2020, OLT Offshore won approval to offload LNG to small-scale vessels from its FSRU.
It launched an expression of interest for the service in 2021.
Life extension
Earlier this year, OLT Offshore said that the FSRU Toscana will be in operation until the end of 2044 due to life extension work carried out on the FSRU in 2024.
In November 2024, the 137,100-cbm FSRU resumed operations about 22 km off the coast between Livorno and Pisa following completion of “extraordinary” maintenance at SGdP’s yards in Italy and France.
OLT said that while the FSRU was in the yard, the firm also carried out a set of works aimed at extending the useful life of the FSRU Toscana.
After that, RINA (Italian Naval Registry) issued the “declaration certifying the extension of the useful life of the terminal for an additional 20 years, ensuring operability and reliability until 2044.”
The FSRU has a maximum regasification capacity of 5 bcm a year and sends natural gas to Italy’s national grid via a 36.5-kilometer-long pipeline.
Italy’s Snam holds a 49.07 percent stake in the LNG terminal, while Igneo Infrastructure Partners owns a 48.24 percent share.
Also, Golar LNG, which provided the 2003-built FSRU, has a minor 2.69 percent stake in the LNG import facility.