Qatar, Italy to build 2nd LNG terminal

27 Jan 2015

(MENAFN) The Italian Ambassador to Qatar said that both countries are planning to build their second LNG receiving terminal in Italy in efforts to increase the country’s capacity, adding that they are also discussing several other investment proposals as well, The Peninsula Qatar reported.

Italy is currently one of the largest trading partners of Qatar in Europe, with the value of Italian exports to Qatar during the January-October period of 2014 hitting USD1.01 billion, while Qatar’s exports to Italy was about USD1.57 billion, with the trade balance favoring Qatar mainly due to exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

“We have been trying to diversify our sources of energy since the 1950s. This is why in 2010 we started importing LNG from Qatar. The existing terminal in Italy, which has been built with financial support from Qatar, is almost running at full capacity. So we are looking forward to build another terminal to receive more LNG from Qatar,” The Italian Ambassador said.

The two countries already have an existing “Adriatic LNG Terminal” in Italy, located offshore of Porto Levante, in the Northern Adriatic Sea, which is the first offshore Gravity Based Structure in the world for unloading, storage and regasification of LNG.

The terminal has been designed, built and operated by Terminale GNL Adriatico (Adriatic LNG), the joint venture between Qatar Terminal Limited, a 100 percent owned subsidiary of Qatar Petroleum, that owns 45 percent, ExxonMobil Italiana Gas with 45 percent, while the remaining 10 percent owned by Edison.