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Confitarma bids for government support on FSRU project

John McLaughlin - Tuesday 8 July 2008

A GROUP of up to ten Italian shipowners, including many of Naples’ most prominent industry figures, have come together to promote a €1bn ($1.6bn) FSRU project designed to help alleviate Italy’s chronic energy security crisis. 

Under the umbrella of shipowners association Confitarma, the group will formally approach industry minister Claudio Scajola in the coming days in a bid for government support for the project. 

Specifically, and understandably given the cost of the project, they are eager to lock in long-term and even lifetime contracts for the floating storage and regasification unit, perhaps with Italian oil company Eni. 

Giuseppe Bottiglieri, chief executive of Giuseppe Bottiglieri di Navigazione and a member of the project group, said it envisaged the construction of a vessel using SBM technology close to that being deployed on a similar project in New York’s Long Island Sound. 

He added that, as currently planned, the vessel, to be moored well offshore in an as yet unspecified location, would be capable of mooring two ships simultaneously, one of which alongside, and would have storage capacity of around 300,000 cubic metres. 

The project group also includes Neapolitan shipping companies Cafiero Mattioli, D’Amato di Navigazione, Perseveranza, Dieulemar, Marnavi, LGR and Gestioni Armatoriali, as well as the Venice-based Zacchello Group. 

It first broached the idea to the Prodi government some months ago, approaching industry minister Paolo Bersani, who was initially enthusiastic. However, political events, specifically elections that went the way of Silvio Berlusconit’s centre-right coalition, intervened and the project was put on hold. 

Speaking at the ‘48 Hours of the Sea” event in Genoa on Tuesday, Mr Bottiglieri said newly installed industry minister Claudio Scajola had also reacted positively to the idea in informal discussions. 

Indeed, in a speech to the annual assembly of Italian shipowners association Confitarma this morning, he said the government place particular importance on the formulation of a new energy policy to include the construction of new regasification plants. 

Currently, Italy has only one small regasification plant in operation, and though two more appear to be moving ahead a number of other projects, perhaps most notably BG Group’s planned facility in Brindisi, have been bogged down for years by opposition from environmentalists and local citizens in the areas concerned. 

Mr Bottiglieri noted that the FSRU project should have particular appeal to the government given the strength of opposition to land-based regasification plants close to densely inhabited areas, and Italy’s proven need to diversify its sources of supply.