Italy to receive first U.S. LNG cargo?

Italy is about to receive its first cargo of U.S. LNG produced from shale gas, at least that it is what the ship tracking data currently shows.

This would be only the fourth U.S. cargo to land in Europe since Cheniere’s Sabine Pass liquefaction facility started exporting the chilled fuel at the end of February.

According to AIS data provided by the vessel tracking website, MarineTraffic, the 156,007-cbm WilPride is expected to deliver a Sabine Pass cargo to FSRU Toscana located off the Italian coast between Livorno and Pisa on December 4.

LNG World News contacted both Cheniere and OLT Offshore LNG Toscana, the operator of the Italian FSRU.

OLT Offshore LNG Toscana declined to comment. A Cheniere spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cheniere’s Sabine Pass facility has since February shipped more than 40 cargoes produced from two liquefaction trains with most of them landing in Latin America followed by Africa, Asia, and Europe.

The U.S. is expected to become the world’s third-largest LNG supplier by 2020 with an export capacity of 60 million mt coming from five terminals located along the Gulf Coast.

LNG World News Staff