Snam starts the test phase of FSRU with the arrival of the first LNG carrier

Between 4 – 5 May 2023, the LNG carrier Maran Gas Kalymnos was moored, carrying the first load of gas for the first set of safety checks and testing to be run on the equipment and pipelines that make up the plant.

The two ships, both of which were moored side by side on the East quay of the North dock at the port in Piombino, were visited by representatives from national and local institutions such as the Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, the Special Commissioner for the Piombino regasification plant and President of the Region of Tuscany, Eugenio Giani, and the President of the Piombino Port Authority, Luciano Guerrieri; they were accompanied on the tour of the plant by Stefano Venier, CEO of Snam.

Venier stated: “The arrival of the first load of gas, which will allow us to carry out the plant’s testing and fine-tuning operations, is another important step in equipping the country with an infrastructure that is fundamental to the security and diversification of supplies. Proof of this is the fact that 86% of the entry capacity has already been sold to multiple operators for 20 years, and all of it in the next three years. We started this 11 months ago with the purchase of the Golar Tundra, and, for the past six months, we have been working with about 450 people on the shore and quayside sites employing, 150 sub-contractors and suppliers, and about half of them are Tuscan. It is a complex, innovative project but one that is not unusual for a company like Snam, which has guaranteed the country's energy infrastructure for 80 years.”

The LNG carrier Maran Gas Kalymnos, carrying an Eni cargo of 170 000 m³ of LNG, left Damietta in Egypt for Piombino on 27 April 2023. It was launched in 2021 and measures 294.9 m long, 46.4 m wide and 55 m high.

With the help of four tugboats, the LNG carrier entered the port of Piombino on the evening of 4 May when the ferry traffic had stopped as part of a manoeuvre lasting around two hours. The LNG carrier was moored at the Golar Tundra and will transfer the LNG through six hoses to the FSRU's tanks, which are to be returned to a gaseous state and fed into the national transport network.

The tests will begin by connecting and cooling down the hoses linking the LNG carrier to the FSRU, resulting in the transfer of approximately 70 000 m³ of LNG (out of a total of 170 000) into the Golar Tundra’s tanks. The next phase of testing involves the start of the regasification test phases (commissioning), which will involve setting up the necessary plants and systems, with part of the gas being sent through the new pipeline to the entry point on the national grid.

Around a few weeks later, the LNG carrier will return to the port to be moored again at the Golar Tundra to offload the remaining 90 000 m³ of LNG. The final testing phase involves checking the performance at different regasification profiles (acceptance test). Some 90% of the cargo will be fed into the grid for domestic consumption while the remaining 10% will be used to ensure the vessel’s operability.

Around 100 crew and ground personnel will be involved in this testing period. In the future, it is expected that the regasifier will be staffed by approximately 60 people, some 40 of whom will be crew.

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/regasification/09052023/snam-starts-the-test-phase-of-fsru-with-the-arrival-of-the-first-lng-carrier/