OLT now ready to supply LNG tankers

It was concluded at the end of July, at the Ministry of Environment, the procedure for the verification of environmental impact of the changes to the OLT (Offshore LNG Toscana) regasification plant operating off Livorno, necessary for the supply of small LNG tankers.

The tankers will then be able to supply the coastal LNG depots under construction (such as the Higas di Santa Giusta - Oristano), those planned in the Mediterranean and the vessels using this fuel (ship to ship).

The request was submitted by OLT on March 22, 2019 and the following December 6, 2019 the Technical Commission for Environmental Impact Assessment had expressed a positive opinion on the exclusion from the procedure, an opinion that allows the start of the works without other preliminary procedures, all completed.

As reported by Staffetta Quotidiana last July 29, the Ministry has taken note of this opinion and other procedural aspects giving the go-ahead to the changes of the plant with the Ministerial Decree n. 229 of July 27, 2020, 16 months after the start of the procedure, while already in September 2019 had the go-ahead from the Tuscany Region and the Conference of Services at the MISE.

The Plant is expected to be fully operational in the summer of 2021 and as reported by Staffetta, the managing director of OLT Giovanni Giorgi announced that the plant from next October will receive orders for loading operations.

The project to modify the plant provides, in addition to normal activities, the annual supply of 41 small to medium size tankers (typically between 5,000 and 7,500 cubic meters of LNG). The service will be supplied by an LNG capacity of approximately 310,000 cubic meters, leaving unchanged the maximum authorized regasification capacity of 3.75 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.

While the Ministry of the Environment proceeded with the request for exclusion from the EIA, the Spanish facilities in Huelva, Barcelona and Marseille became available for the supply of small LNG tankers. In these ports and in Tenerife there are also ship to ship supplies, not yet allowed in Italy (as well as truck to ship supplies).

In the picture the model of the OLT plant exhibited at the Third LNG Conference - First ExpoGNL in 2015