Project Profile
Location: Offshore Porto Levante, in the northern Adriatic Sea, Italy
Regasification capacity: 8 bcm of natural gas per year (775 mcfd)
Start-up Year: April 2009
Water Depth: 29 m
Adriatic LNG terminal is the first offshore regasification terminal in the world. Located offshore of Porto Levante, in the northern Adriatic Sea, the terminal has a regasification capacity is of 8 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year (775 million cubic feet per day), or approximately 10 percent of Italy’s current natural gas requirements. Eighty percent of the Terminal capacity will be utilised by Edison for a period of 25 years, to regasify LNG imported from Qatar’s North Field, as part of a supply agreement with RasGas II. It is installed offshore Rovigo, Italy, and was ready for operation in 2009. The terminal receives LNG primarily from Qatar. It stores the LNG, regasifies it and feeds the gas through a 17km pipeline to shore and the Italian gas distribution system. The construction of the structure started in Algeciras, Spain, in 2005.
The facility is owned and operated by Adriatic LNG Terminal company where Edison has a 7.3% stake. The other shareholders are ExxonMobil Italiana Gas (70.7%) and Qatar Terminal Company Limited (22%). The main feature of the Adriatic LNG Terminal is its concrete Gravity based Structure (GBS), a massive construction that rests on the seabed at a depth of about 29 metres. Made of 90,000 cubic metres of cement and 30,000 tons of steel reinforcement, the GBS was built at the Campamento construction site in the Bay of Algeciras in Southern Spain.
Pipeline
After being reconverted to its original state, the gas then flows into the pipeline system, connecting the terminal with the mainland and then with the national gas distribution network, ready to be distributed to end users. Designed and built by the Italian company Snamprogetti, a 30-inch diameter, 40-km long pipeline transports the gas from the terminal 15 km offshore and then 25 km onshore to the metering station near Cavarzere, in the province of Venice. From here, another pipeline, 84-km long and owned by Edison Stoccaggio, transfers the gas to a tie in point with the national distribution network near Minerbio, in the province of Bologna.
Operators:
Adriatic LNG Terminal operator consisting of:
ExxonMobil Italiana Gas: 70.7% interest
Qatar Terminal Company Limited: 22% interest
Snam: 7.3% interest
Contractors:
Snamprogetti: Construction of the pipeline
Aker Solutions: Design and management of concrete GBS, the design of topside facilities, the construction of topside and tank
Rana Diving: Five-year contract from Adriatic LNG. Under the contract Rana will provide diving and ROV services for inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) of the LNG Terminal offshore Italy.
Subcontractors:
Skanska Whessoe Ltd: Design of LNG tanks