Higas has won approval from Italy’s ministries of economic development and infrastructure and transport to build and operate a 9,000m³ LNG-storage plant at Santa Giusta in Sardinia’s Oristano province.
The joint venture between Gas & Heat and CPL Concordia will build and operate an LNG terminal and distribution hub in Sardinia. It aims to import LNG to Sardinia on small-scale tankers, for onward distribution by pipeline and truck.
Last year, Stolt-Nielsen subsidiary Stolt-Nielsen Gas bought a 10 per cent stake in Higas, with the option to acquire up to 80 per cent. Stolt-Nielsen announced in an earnings call this week that it will confirm its order for two small-scale LNG carriers shortly, to support the Sardinia project.
Chief executive Niels Stolt-Nielsen aims to place the orders in the fourth quarter of this year.
Stolt-Nielsen plans to order a series of 7,500m³ LNG carriers from an Asia-based shipyard to deliver gas to Sardinia. The company plans to sign off the orders once it has agreed its offtake for the project.
Italy must issue a ministerial decree to enable the Sardinia project to become the first small-scale LNG-storage plant built in the Mediterranean.
Stolt-Nielsen also plans to develop small-scale LNG projects in the Caribbean, Canada, South America, Asia, India and Indonesia, Mr Stolt-Nielsen said this summer.
Data that LNG World Shipping commissioned from VesselsValue this autumn indicates a live fleet of just 14 small-scale LNG carriers with capacity up to 29,000m³, and seven on order.
However, interest is growing in small to midscale LNG carriers, to support growth in small-scale LNG demand and gas-to-power projects. Like Stolt-Nielsen, Singapore-based Saga LNG also plans to build up a fleet of small to mid-size LNG carriers.