Italian FSRU to receive first LNG cargo in November after maintenance

In June this year, the FSRU arrived at SGdP’s Chantier Naval de Marseille from Italy’s 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.

OLT Offshore said in a statement on Monday that the “extraordinary maintenance activities of the FSRU Toscana terminal have been successfully completed.”

The FSRU left Marseille on Monday and will be towed back to Italy to reach the site off the coast between Livorno and Pisa where it was previously moored, for its re-installation and reconnection to the gas system, it said.

OLT Offshore expects the unit to arrive on October 2.

Upon return to Livorno, Olt Offshore will carry out preparatory activities for the reconnection of the anchoring system and systems connecting the terminal to the national gas grid.

“Thereafter, a cooling-down phase of the plant is planned, with the discharge of an LNG cargo, aimed at the resumption of commercial operations of the terminal, currently scheduled for November 24,” OLT Offshore said.

In addition, OLT Offshore said in a separate statement it aims to launch a tender procedure for 30,000 cbm of LNG (equivalent to about 200,000 MWh), which will be delivered to the FSRU for cool-down and gas-up activities.

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 137,100-cbm FSRU, has a minor 2.69 percent stake in the LNG import facility.