November 2009 Vol. 236 No. 11
Web Exclusive
Worlds First Offshore Gravity-Based LNG Terminal Near Venice
In a pioneering application for the global liquid natural gas (LNG) industry, GE Oil & Gas technology is powering the world’s first gravity-based offshore LNG terminal 10 miles offshore from the town of Rovigo, near Venice, on Italy’s north east coast.
Owned and operated by Adriatic LNG, the terminal is moored in waters 90 feet deep and is the world’s first use of an artificial island Gravity Based Structure (GBS) for offshore LNG. At the heart of the engineering solution is an enormous reinforced concrete box that rests on the sea floor and houses two LNG storage tanks. In addition, the project also marks the first ever offshore deployment of a GE10-1 ‘dual fuel low emissions’ gas turbine system.
The terminal receives LNG shipments from Qatar (80 percent), Egypt and Trinidad twice a week. The LNG is regasified at the terminal and then transported to an onshore metering station before it enters Italy’s gas network.
The new terminal will increase Italy’s regasification capacity by 200 percent. It is larger than two soccer fields, as high as a 10-story building and has two LNG tanks with a combined annual capacity of 8 billion cubic meters – representing around 10 percent of Italy’s yearly gas demand.
Claudi Santiago, president and CEO of GE Oil & Gas, said: “Adriatic LNG and its Qatar Petroleum, ExxonMobil and Edison owners have made the strategic vision of offshore LNG a here-and-now reality. We are delighted that GE technology is helping to deliver this remarkable achievement, especially given the important role that LNG plays within a diversified energy mix.”
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