Posted on April 8, 2024
Snam has exercised its pre-emption right to boost its ownership stake in Terminale GNL Adriatico S.r.l. from the current 7.3% to 30%. This company owns the Adriatic LNG regasification terminal, which operates in the waters off Porto Viro (Rovigo), Italy. The decision to exercise the pre-emption right followed VTTI, a Dutch energy storage and infrastructure firm, signing an agreement to acquire a majority stake in the company. The completion of the transaction is anticipated by the end of 2024, subject to various regulatory approvals. Once finalized, VTTI will hold 70% of Adriatic LNG’s corporate capital, while Snam will hold the remaining 30%.
Situated approximately 15 kilometers off the Veneto coast, the Adriatic LNG terminal is Italy’s largest offshore infrastructure for unloading, storing, and regasifying liquefied natural gas (LNG). It boasts an annual technical regasification capacity of 9.6 billion cubic meters, equivalent to approximately 14% of the current domestic gas demand.
Stefano Venier, CEO of Snam, emphasized the significance of this operation in strengthening Snam’s presence in LNG infrastructure, which plays an increasingly strategic role in ensuring the security and diversification of Italy’s energy supplies. He expressed eagerness to collaborate with VTTI to uphold the continuous and top-notch management of Adriatic LNG, vital for the Italian energy system, and to support its expansion endeavors.
In this context, Snam aims to enhance the resilience of Italy’s regasification infrastructures, thereby bolstering the security and diversification of the domestic energy system. Significantly, Snam maintains ownership interests in all of the remaining regulated LNG regasification plants currently in operation across Italy. These include the Panigaglia terminal near La Spezia, operational since 1971; the OLT FSRU Toscana off Livorno, operational since 2013; and the FSRU Golar Tundra in Piombino, operational since July 2023. Together, these plants offer a total regasification capacity of approximately 23 billion cubic meters.
As part of initiatives undertaken since 2022 to further diversify the country’s gas supplies following the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, Snam has also acquired the floating and storage regasification unit BW Singapore. This unit is set to commence activities off the coast of Ravenna in the first months of 2025. As a result, the nation’s total regasification capacity is anticipated to rise to 28 billion cubic meters, evenly divided between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic coasts—equivalent to the total volumes imported via pipeline from Russia in 2021.
Snam specializes in constructing energy infrastructures and providing comprehensive services. Its mission is to lead the transformation of the energy sector by developing the most advanced sustainable energy network, ensuring reliable supplies to Europe.
