Adriatic LNG Terminal
| Part of the Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker, a Global Energy Monitor project. |
Adriatic LNG Terminal, also known as Rovigo LNG Terminal, Terminale GNL Adriatico Srl, and Porto Levante LNG Terminal, is an LNG import terminal in Italy with units that are proposed and operating.
Location
Table 1: Location details
| Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Adriatic LNG Terminal (base project) | offshore, Rovigo, Veneto, Italy[1] | 45.091667, 12.586111 (exact) |
| Capacity Expansion | offshore, Rovigo, Veneto, Italy[1] | 45.091667, 12.586111 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the terminal:
Project Details
Table 2: Infrastructure details
| Name | Facility type | Status | Capacity | Total terminal capacity | Offshore | Associated infrastructure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adriatic LNG Terminal (base project) | import[2] | operating[3][4] | 7.06 mtpa[5] | 7.64 mtpa | True | – |
| Capacity Expansion | import[2] | proposed[5] | 0.59 mtpa[5] | 7.64 mtpa | True | – |
Table 3: Cost
| Name | Facility type | Cost | Total known terminal costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adriatic LNG Terminal (base project) | import[2] | – | – |
| Capacity Expansion | import[2] | – | – |
Financing
No financing data available.
Table 4: Project timeline
| Name | Facility type | Status | Proposal year | FID year | Construction year | Operating year | Inactive year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adriatic LNG Terminal (base project) | import[2] | operating[3][4] | – | – | – | 2009[3][4] | – |
| Capacity Expansion | import[2] | proposed[5] | 2023[5] | – | – | –[5][5] | – |
Ownership
Table 5: Ownership
| Name | Facility type | Status | Owners | Parent companies | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adriatic LNG Terminal (base project) | import[2] | operating[3][4] | Adriatic LNG SRL [100%][3] | Snam SpA [30.0%]; Abu Dhabi National Oil Co; IFM Investors; Vitol | Adriatic LNG[3] |
| Capacity Expansion | import[2] | proposed[5] | Adriatic LNG SRL [100%][3] | Snam SpA [30.0%]; Abu Dhabi National Oil Co; IFM Investors; Vitol | Adriatic LNG[3] |
Background
Adriatic LNG Terminal is an offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification terminal, 14 km off the coast of Rovigo Province, Italy. Construction began in Spain in May 2005, and was conducted by a consortium of nine firms; the terminal was towed into place in 2008, and brought into service in October 2009. It is connected by pipeline to a metering station in Cavarzere.[6][7][8] The original ownership structure of the project was ExxonMobil (70.7%), Qatar Petroleum (22%), and SNAM (7.3%).[9][10]
As of June 2017, Italian gas group Snam, controlled by state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, was looking to buy Edison's 7.3% stake in the terminal and in the gas pipeline that connects it to Italy's gas transmission backbone.[11] The €225 million sale to Snam was concluded in July 2017.[12]
In 2019, the Adriatic LNG Terminal recorded its most successful year to date. A February 2020 press release from terminal owner Terminale GNL Adriatico Srl noted that the terminal used 95.6% of its capacity in 2019, up from the 81% figure recorded in 2018 and the 87% recorded in the terminal's previous record year of 2010, and significantly higher than the Europe-wide average capacity usage of 50%. The terminal received 88 tankers in 2019 (up from 77 in 2018) and approached its maximum regasification capacity of 8 billion cubic meters, injecting 7.6 billion cubic meters of gas into Italy's pipeline system in 2019, up from 6.5 billion in 2018.[13]
In March 2020, Italian regulators cleared the Adriatic terminal to receive Q-Flex vessels[14], and in June 2020 the terminal received its first Q-Flex delivery from the 216,000 m3 Qatar-based Tembek.[15]
In March 2022, the terminal company announced it had raised the terminal's capacity by 13% to 9 bcm per year by optimizing its operating regime.[16]
In May 2023, it was reported that four international bidders were vying for Exxon's majority stake in the terminal. The companies include BlackRock, Igneo Infrastructure Partners, German asset manager IKAV, and energy infrastructure group VTTI.[17]
In October 2023, Exxon Mobil announced that it had selected BlackRock as the potential buyer of its majority stake in the terminal. As of this point, a final agreement had not yet been reached.[18][19]
In March and April of 2024, agreements were made to change the ownership structure of the project. VTTI—co-owned by Vitol, IFM, and Adnoc, and IKAV—will acquire a majority stake in the project by purchasing ExxonMobil's and QatarEnergy's shares. In response, Snam will exercise its right to increase its share to 30% under an existing agreement with the current shareholders. The new ownership struture, with VTTI holding 70% and Snam holding 30% of Adriatic LNG, is expected to come into effect in the latter half of 2024.[20][21]
In December 2024, the sale of ExxonMobil's and QatarEnergy's shares to VTTI and Snam was completed.[22]
Capacity Expansion
In April 2025, Montel News reported that the government of Italy had approved a capacity expansion of 8% from 9.6 bcm/y to 10.4 bcm/y, but did not specify how capacity would be increased. The modifications to the facility were planned during a scheduled maintenance shutdown in the summer of 2025, with the additional capacity set to be available in Q1 2026.[23]
The project to increase the terminal’s constant regasification capacity was completed in December 2025, raising annual capacity from 9 bcm/y to 9.5 bcm/y.[24][25]
Opposition
Opposition groups have cited the low utilization rates of Italy's operating LNG terminals to call into question the necessity of such extensive LNG infrastructure in the country. According to Food and Water Europe's 2019 profile on Italy's gas use, "Between January 2012 and March 2019 all Italian LNG terminals were used at only ~31% of their capacity."[26]
Articles and Resources
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of LNG terminals, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 (PDF) https://www.adriaticlng.it/wps/wcm/connect/d32366a0-c3d2-4ea1-8e8a-331dcca73760/Terminal+Map.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=k3axeQQ.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 (PDF) https://giignl.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GIIGNL-2024-Annual-Report-1.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 (PDF) https://giignl.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/GIIGNL2022_Annual_Report_May24.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 (PDF) https://giignl.org/sites/default/files/PUBLIC_AREA/Publications/giignl_-_2020_annual_report_-_04082020.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 https://montelnews.com/news/34e266b0-9192-4dbf-be55-744e6e89556e/italy-approves-expansion-of-adriatic-lng-terminal-to-10-4bcm.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ Adriatic Rovigo LNG Terminal, Wikipedia, accessed April 2017.
- ↑ Adriatic LNG website, accessed July 2017.
- ↑ Rovigo Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal, Politecnico di Milano presentation, accessed July 2017.
- ↑ International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers (May 24, 2022). "Annual Report 2022 Edition" (PDF). GIIGNL. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ The LNG Industry: Annual Report 2020, page 38, International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers, accessed April 29, 2020
- ↑ Snam in exclusive talks to buy LNG terminal stake from Edison, Reuters, 20 June 2017.
- ↑ "Edison sells ITG and its 7.3% interest in Adriatic LNG to Snam". Edison. July 25, 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Il terminale Adriatic LNG chiude un anno da record". Terminale GNL Adriatico Srl press release. February 5, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Adriatic LNG to receive first Q-Flex". Argus Media. 2020-06-12. Archived from the original on 2021-07-12.
- ↑ "Qatargas delivers first Q-Flex cargo to Adriatic terminal". Offshore Energy. 2020-06-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Enza Tedesco, Italy’s Adriatic LNG terminal raises capacity by 13% to 9bcm, Montel, Mar. 18, 2022
- ↑ "Four bidders vie for stake in Exxon LNG terminal in Italy". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
- ↑ ExxonMobil Finds Buyer for Adriatic LNG Stake, MarineLink, 2024.
- ↑ ExxonMobil to sell majority stake in Italian LNG terminal to BlackRock, Offshore Technology, 2024.
- ↑ Reuters. Exclusive: Vitol close to buying Exxon, QatarEnergy stakes in Italy LNG terminal, sources say. March 5, 2024.
- ↑ Staff, LNG Prime (2024-04-04). "Snam boosts stake in Adriatic LNG terminal". LNG Prime. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ↑ Ghilotti, Davide (2024-12-04). "Sale of Italy's largest LNG terminal completed, new CEO appointed". upstreamonline.com. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
- ↑ Spalla, Alfredo (2025-04-16). "Italy approves expansion of Adriatic LNG terminal to 10.4bcm". MONTEL. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
- ↑ "Adriatic LNG supplied over 13% of national gas demand in 2025 | LNG Industry". www.lngindustry.com. 2026-02-27. Retrieved 2026-07-06.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "European LNG Tracker". IEEFA. 2026-05. Retrieved 2026-07-06.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Italy Food and Water Europe, accessed December 5, 2019
