Snam’s Ravenna FSRU leaves Italian yard

BW Singapore’s AIS data shows that the unit is expected to arrive from Palermo to Cartagena around February 21.

In December, the FSRU arrived in Italy after undergoing extensive repairs and modifications at DP World Drydocks shipyard in Dubai

Snam said at the time the FSRU will stay at the yard in Palermo for “just over a month for technical finishing operations, specifically mechanical, instrumental, and electrical work and fine-tuning of some equipment.”

The firm said these activities are aimed at preparing the regasification unit for the following gassing and cooling operations planned at the LNG terminal in Cartagena, Spain.

“Then, the FSRU is expected to arrive in Ravenna in February for connection to the mooring deck, which was completed and installed last November, for receiving of additional amounts of LNG, and the final verification activities before commissioning scheduled for early April 2025,” Snam said.

Two FSRUs

In December 2023, Snam completed the purchase of BW LNG’s 2015-built FSRU BW Singapore for about $400 million.

With the commissioning of BW Singapore, Italy’s total regasification capacity will rise to 28 billion cubic meters, equivalent to the volumes imported by pipeline from Russia in 2021, before the Russian-Ukrainian war, according to Snam.

Snam’s other FSRU-based LNG import terminal in the Italian port of Piombino received its 50th cargo in December since its launch in 2023.

The 170,000-cbm FSRU, Italis LNG, previously known as Golar Tundra, received its first commercial shipment from Eni in July 2023.

Eni booked regasification capacity at the FSRU-based facility as part of its strategy to diversify LNG supplies to Italy through its internationally produced equity gas.

In April, the unit received its first LNG cargo from Eni’s Congo FLNG project.

In addition to these two FSRU-based terminals, Snam holds significant stakes in all the regulated LNG regasification terminals currently operating in Italy, including the Panigaglia terminal, the Adriatic LNG terminal, and the OLT FSRU Toscana terminal.