Enel and Hoegh to develop LNG FPSO

Enel SpA is in talks with Norway’s Hoegh LNG to jointly develop a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) ship, a Hoegh spokesman said. “I can confirm Enel is one of the parties we are talking to as regards the development of our FPSO vessel,” the spokesman said. He said a joint investment of around 1 billion Euros could be a reasonable amount for the project.

Hoegh, which is developing its FPSO programme with a series of investors, expects first delivery of the vessel in 2012. A source said Enel will use the LNG capacity from the ship, when ready, to supply the LNG terminal it is building at Porto Empedocle in Sicily.

The Porto Empedocle facility, which recently received crucial environmental clearance, will have a capacity of 8 billion cubic metres of gas per year.

The terminal is expected to receive around 4 billion cubic metres of LNG from Nigeria and 2 billion cubic metres from Egypt.