Spain’s Enagas and Italian energy group Edison are joining forces to develop the small-scale LNG market in the Mediterranean.
The duo will develop an LNG supply chain from Enagás’ Mediterranean terminals, led by the Barcelona plant, to Edison customers.
As part of the cooperation, Scale Gas Solutions, a small-scale LNG unit of Enagas, purchased a 19% stake from Edison in a small facility currently under construction in the Italian port of Ravenna.
Following the transaction, Edison will have 30% while Scale Gas will have a 19% stake in the Depositi Italiani GNL. Italy’s PIR Group will remain the operator with a 51% stake.
The Ravenna facility is more than 70% complete and the partners plan to launch the project in October 2021.
It will have a storage capacity of 20,000 cbm and an annual handling capacity of over 1 million cbm.
This is sufficient to supply about 12,000 trucks and up to 48 ferries per year.
Small-scale LNG key to decarbonization
The duo consider small-scale LNG to be a “key solution towards sustainable mobility.”
They see LNG helping achieve the ambitious environmental targets set at the international level for the transport sector.
Pierre Vergerio, Edison’s VP of gas midstream, energy management and optimization said this transaction has a “significant strategic value.”
He added that the deal strengthens the small-scale cooperation between the two players which started more than two years ago.
Enagas CEO Marcelino Oreja said that collaborating in projects like this would allow the development of solid logistics chains from its terminals.
Furthermore, it will promote, in accordance with EU directives, the implementation of sustainable mobility thanks to LNG in the Mediterranean, he said.