Imports of LNG constitute a very small portion of Italy's total natural gas imports. The country has a single LNG receiving terminal at Panigaglia, located on the country's western coast near La Spezia. According to Snam, the terminal's operator, the Panigaglia facility produced 190 Mmcf/d of natural gas in 2004.

Natural gas companies are planning to construct several LNG receiving terminals in Italy in order to meet estimated future demand. A consortium of British Gas and Enel plans to construct an LNG receiving terminal in Brindisi, along Italy's southeast coast. In late 2004, the consortium awarded a contract for construction of the facility to Italy's Tecnimont. The Brindisi consortium expected the facility to begin operations by 2008 with an initial output capacity of 770 Mmcf/d. British Gas has already secured a supply of LNG for the terminal from its own integrated production-gasification project in Egypt. 

ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum each hold 45 percent stakes in the proposed North Adriatic LNG project, an effort led by Italy's Edison to build an LNG receiving terminal on Italy's northern Adriatic coast. The project consists of a 770-Mmcf/d, offshore regasification facility near Rovigo, using LNG supplied by the RasGas II gas liquefaction project in Quatar. Completion of the project is on hold pending approval from local government officials, but Edison has stated that it expects initial production from the project by 2007.

 

 

The Italian city of Livorno, on Italy's central west coast, has been at the center of many LNG proposals. In May 2004, the Offshore LNG Terminal (OLT) consortium received environmental approval for its proposed LNG receiving terminal near Livorno, OLT, composed of Golar LNG and Italy's CrossGas, plans to permanently moor a standard LNG tanker offshore, convert it into a floating storage and regasification unit, then connect it to the coast via a sub-sea pipeline. Once completed, the Livorno offshore facility will have an initial capacity of 290-Mmcf/d.

A consortium of BP, Edison, and chemical company Solvay plan to construct a 290-Mmcf/d LNG terminal on the site of a former Solvay chemicals plant near Livorno. In January 2005, Italy's environmental ministry approved plans for the construction of the project.

 

However, local government leaders have expressed opposition to the project, which could delay its planned initial production date of 2012. Spanish electricity utility Endesa has also expressed interest in building an LNG receiving terminal in Livorno to feed its Italian power plants, though it has not yet announced any concrete plans to build such a facility.

In March 2005, Spain's Gas Natural (GN) presented plans to local officials for the construction of two LNG receiving terminals in Italy, located in the northern city of Trieste and the southern port of Taranto. Under its proposal, GN would build facilities at each location with production capacities of 770 Mmcf/d each in order to fuel its plans to expand its presence in the Italian natural gas market. GN planned to complete the projects by 2009.

 

Royal Dutch/Shell also announced in March 2005 that it would partner with Italy's ERG to build an LNG receiving terminal next to ERG's oil refinery at Priolo Gargallo, Sicily. Shell stated that, pending approval of government officials, it would begin construction of the $510 million, 770-Mmcf/d facility by 2007, for completion in 2010.