Italian FLNG Cleared to Become Bunkering Hub

Offshore LNG Toscana (OLT), the operator of the Toscana floating storage and regasification unit in central Italy, has been cleared by authorities to begin discharging LNG to small-scale carriers, the company said on October 23.

OLT, a joint venture between Italy's Snam and Australia's First State Investments, said its terminal would now be able to provide gas for bunkering barges serving LNG-fuelled ships as well as for tankers supplying LNG service stations for trucks.

"This is the first regasification terminal in Italy capable of providing small-scale services," OLT said. "This new activity adds an important piece to energy logistics, allowing to complete the supply chain that permits the use of LNG as a sustainable fuel and capable of reducing polluting and climate-changing emissions in heavy land and sea transport, as well as for industrial and civil uses in areas not served by the national transport network."

Italy's Edison is also building an LNG regasification plant in Ravenna, in northern Italy, that will provide fuel to trucks and ferries starting in October 2021. The company transferred a stake in the project this month to Spain's Enagas, and the pair have agreed to work together to develop small-scale LNG supply in the Mediterranean region.