Milan, March 17 , 2022 - Adriatic LNG is ready to offer more LNG regasification capacity to Italy
and Europe, increasing the operating capacity of the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification terminal in Italy and one of the first three largest LNG regasification terminals in the Mediterranean, from 8 to 9 billion cubic meters per year. The Ministry of Ecological Transition - with Decree 4 of 15 March 2022 - verified compliance with the environmental pre-operating conditions of the Directorate Decree of exclusion from the EIA no. 297 of 18 August 2021.
Having successfully completed the authorization process in the preceding months, this was the final step towards the immediate implementation of the initiative. Adriatic LNG will therefore be able to deliver more of its customers' natural gas into the national gas pipeline network thanks to the optimization of the offshore terminal's operating regime, without any structural or plant modifications compared to the current configuration.
The Adriatic LNG terminal is a unique case in the panorama of Italian and European regasification terminals, as it has for years boasted the highest average utilization rate (92% in 2021 against a monthly average at European level of between 29% and 40%). In addition, the infrastructure was built and is managed with private resources without, therefore, any financial burden on the gas system and without constituting a cost in the bill for citizens. In Italy, it is the only one capable of accommodating almost all classes of LNG carriers, with a capacity of between 65,000 and 217,000 liquid cm of LNG.
By increasing its regasification capacity, Adriatic LNG will be able to make a greater contribution to meeting the country's natural gas needs as it will be able to cover around 12% of annual national consumption.
Alfredo Balena, Director of Public & Government Affairs at Adriatic LNG, says: "We have reached an important milestone at a critical time for our country's energy security. Increasing the capacity of our terminal represents for Italy and also for Europe a tangible way to increase and diversify LNG imports."