Italian FSRU resumes ops after maintenance

“With extraordinary maintenance concluded on November 24, regasification activity officially resumed on November 25, with the receipt of the first cargo of liquefied natural gas,” OLT Offshore said on Tuesday.

Images provided by OLT Offshore show the 2018-built 173,400-cbm, British Contributor, along the 137,100-cbm FSRU, located about 22 km off the coast between Livorno and Pisa.

According to British Contributor’s AIS data provided by VesselsValue, the vessel, which is on charter to BP, delivered the cargo from the Freeport LNG terminal in Texas.

OLT Offshore noted that the FSRU’s regasification capacity is fully allocated until gas year 2026/2027.

Following a tender procedure, OLT awarded the contract for the FSRU maintenance work to Italy’s San Giorgio del Porto (SGdP), and the FSRU arrived in Italy’s Genoa in April to complete the first phase of the planned activities.

In June this year, the FSRU arrived at SGdP’s Chantier Naval de Marseille from Genoa to complete the second and final phase of planned shipyard activities.

The shipyard replaced the bearing of the unit’s anchoring system, which ensures the rotation of the terminal around the geostationary turret.

Last month, OLT Offshore announced that its expects the FSRU to resume operations and receive the first LNG cargo in November following the completion of planned shipyard activities in Marseille.

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 kilometers 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, that provided the 2003-built FSRU, has a minor 2.69 percent stake in the LNG import facility.