Italian energy firm Snam has allocated most of the regasification capacity at the FSRU-based LNG import terminal in the port of Piombino for the next 20 years.
Snam purchased the 170,000-cbm vessel Golar Tundra from Golar LNG last year for $350 million as part of Italy’s plans to replace Russian pipeline gas and strengthen energy security.
The unit, which has a continuous regasification capacity of 5 billion cubic meters per year, arrived in Piombino on Sunday from Singapore.
Snam’s chief executive Stefano Venier confirmed last week the that firm is still expecting to launch the FSRU-based LNG import terminal in May.
According to a statement by Snam issued on Tuesday, the company’s unit FSRU Italia has already allocated more than 86 percent of the offered regasification capacity following the first allocation procedure.
Snam said that 37 slots per year out of a total of 43 slots per year have been allocated for the years 2023/2024 – 2043/2044.
The firm will soon offer the terminal’s remaining capacity of 6 slots per year.
Each slot corresponds to a capacity of 171,920 cbm of LNG or about 105 million cubic meters of gas, it said.
“The excellent result achieved enables the injection into the national transmission network of significant volumes of gas, substantially contributing to the diversification of supplies and security of the natural gas system,” Snam said.
Besides this capacity, Snam’s unit FSRU Italia has also launched a tender for the terminal’s commissioning cargo.
The winner of the tender would deliver a cargo of 165,000-170,000 cbm of LNG during April 27-June 16, according to the tender documents.