RINA classes world’s first offshore LNG FSRU

Addressing the Mare Forum Houston conference, Massimo Volta, RINA’s general manager America, said, “Italy leads the world in implementing offshore LNG terminals. We have recently brought the Adriatic LNG terminal on stream, and we have five more live projects for floating and gravity-based offshore LNG terminals around our coasts. RINA is involved with all these in a number of ways, and our expertise is now being sought by other countries developing offshore LNG projects. We are very proud to have been chosen as the first classification society in the world to class a true offshore floating LNG FSRU, for the OLT Offshore LNG Toscana project.”

The OLT development will see the 138,000m3 Moss-type Golar Frost converted into a 3.75 billion m3 (bcm) per year FSRU, moored in 120m of water off Italy’s west coast port of Livorno. It will act as a receiving terminal for importing LNG, regasifying the LNG and pumping it into Italy’s gas grid.

The OLT FSRU is currently under conversion in Dubai Drydocks and will be towed to Livorno at the end of 2010, with the aim of coming on stream in 2011. An external turret is being fitted, along with over 2,400 tonnes of regasification equipment. The main contractor is Saipem, working for the terminal owners, a joint venture between E ON Ruhrgas, Iride, Golar LNG and OLT Energy. RINA will class the vessel and provide statutory certification on behalf of the government. Through its dedicated oil and gas team it is also providing authority and owner engineering, ship handling simulation and assistance with local and international regulatory compliance.

Following the OLT FSRU, RINA is heavily engaged in providing a range of services to assist the Triton FSRU project. That will be a 5 bcm newbuilding FSRU, to be developed by GdF-Suez and Hoegh.

Building on its experience, RINA has also recently completed a feasibility study for a regasification terminal to be built off the Atlantic coast of Morocco. A decision on investment in the terminal will be made later this year.