OLT commissions new small scale LNG service

This new service, which the FSRU Toscana terminal will provide first in Italy, will enable small LNG carriers to load LNG at the OLT terminal. The small scale LNG carriers will then be able to refuel, directly at sea, LNG-fuelled naval units, or discharge the fuel at coastal storage facilities in major Mediterranean ports. In addition, it will be possible to receive LNG from small LNG carriers to be regasified and fed into the grid.

With the launch of small scale LNG, OLT is confirmed as a strategic hub for the development of maritime bunkering and the LNG supply chain; in particular, following the designation of the Mediterranean Sea as a Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA) – which came into effect on 1 May 2025 – ships will have to use sulfur-reduced marine fuel throughout the Mare Nostrum.

The use of LNG as a fuel significantly reduces emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter compared to other fossil fuels and can be used in both the maritime and heavy road transport sectors.

“First of all, I would like to thank the operators of the Terminal and all the companies that contributed to the construction of this new part of the plant,” said Giovanni Giorgi, CEO of OLT Offshore LNG Toscana. “With the conclusion of the small scale LNG commissioning, our Terminal is ready to offer a service that concretely meets the needs of decarbonisation of maritime and land transport. This project is a demonstration of how existing infrastructure can evolve to support the energy transition, encouraging the use of alternative fuels such as LNG and, in the future, also bio-LNG, both in the transportation sector and for industrial and civil uses in areas not connected to the national gas grid.”

“Our contribution to the LNG-related activities evolution in Italy reaches today a new, important result,” commented Daniele Corti, Head Small Scale LNG at Axpo Group. “We are particularly proud to have actively participated in OLT's testing activities and remain confident about the pivotal role that small scale can bring to the country's energy supply and security. Ours is a pioneering commitment in a sector whose potential in the Mediterranean is set to grow steadily, starting in the coming months.”

Small scale users can procure LNG for loading onto the small LNG carrier in the following ways:

• Through the delivery of a large LNG carrier in the month in which the LNG redelivery is scheduled and to the same user, on a small LNG carrier.
• By purchasing LNG, in tanks or at the flange, from other regasification users who deliver a large LNG carrier in the month in which the LNG redelivery is scheduled.
• Through access to the virtual liquefaction service: the small LNG carrier can refuel with an amount of LNG equivalent to that delivered to the PSV by the user themself (in this case there is also the option of using certified bio-LNG).

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/small-scale-lng/24062025/olt-commissions-new-small-scale-lng-service/