ENI has submitted to the Italian Ministry of Economic Development the feasibility study for the construction of a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal, in the port of Gela.
The initiative follows the Protocol signed in November 2014, under which ENI has committed to evaluate the possibility of building an infrastructure for the supply/storage of LNG or compressed natural gas (CNG), with the aim of bunkering both maritime transport and heavy transport on-land.
For its industrial conversion project, finally, ENI has decided to focus on the LNG solution, thus dumping the hypothesis concerning the compressed natural gas (CNG); this would involve the construction of a small scale liquefaction plant of natural gas, imported from Africa by pipeline, and a storage and distribution infrastructure for the shipping and heavy-duty land transport needs.
The feasibility study has examined, inter alia, the potential LNG market in terms of future developments in the maritime and on-land transport, the synergies with the existing port and the logistical and distribution infrastructure, the opportunities in other Mediterranean basins not yet methanized.
In the near future, some meetings will follow with the representatives of Sicily Region and the Municipality of Gela.