Italian energy company Enel said it is ready to resume plans to build the Porto Empedocle LNG import terminal in southern Italy in an effort to secure alternative supplies to Russian gas.
Porto Empedocle LNG is a proposed liquefied natural gas regasification terminal in Sicily. Originally, Nuove Energie was behind the project that was taken over by Enel which bought the company in 2007. Then, Enel signed a deal with the regional government in 2009 and continued on with the plans. However, later on, it shelved the project due to market conditions.
Now, the company told Reuters it is ready to revive the plans to build this LNG terminal.
The terminal is to take place at a port industrial area on the coast of Sicily. It will be capable of regasifying 8 billion cubic meters per annum. Most importantly, the Porto Empedocle LNG project possesses all the necessary permissions.
Italy imports more than 90 per cent of its gas needs, with imports from Russia accounting for around 40 per cent.
Ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Italy has been looking for ways to secure alternatives to Russian gas. Due to the situation, the company thinks it would be useful for the country to have two additional LNG terminals. Thus, it would be less tied to gas pipelines.
Italian energy transition minister Roberto Cingolani revealed the plans for the country to become independent of Russian gas imports within 24-30 months.
Reuters also reported that both Eni and Snam are taking part in the country’s efforts to install at least one floating LNG terminal or FSRU. Cingolani said the plan is to install a new FSRU by the middle of 2022.
More European countries are looking for ways to reduce their dependency on gas from Russia. Amongst those, Germany took the spotlight eith plans to build two LNG terminals in the near future.
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