The Italian government has approved energy group API's project to build a 2.9mn t/yr LNG terminal offshore Falconara Marittima, near the town of Ancona in the central region of Marche.
The authorisation comes after the government announced earlier this month that it had cleared an 8.6mn t/yr LNG terminal at Gioia Tauro in the southern region of Calabria.
Italy already has two regasification terminals, a 2.5mn t/yr facility at Panigaglia, in the northwestern region of Liguria, and a 5.7mn t/yr offshore terminal in the Adriatic Sea near the town of Rovigo in the northeast of the country.
The OLT consortium, whose main shareholders are German utility Eon and Italy's Iren, is building a 2.7mn t/yr LNG terminal offshore the port of Livorno, which is scheduled to come on stream at the beginning of 2013.
In the meantime, utility Enel has completed preparatory work for the opening of the building site of a 5.7mn t/yr LNG terminal at Porto Empedocle in Sicily. The firm has started selecting contractors for the facility, which is expected to take about four years to build.