Italy’s Eni says considering options for its LNG shipping business

Italy’s state-controlled energy giant Eni confirmed on Friday it is weighing options for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping business following several media reports claiming that the company is quitting the business and aims to sell its two last carriers.

Eni, through its unit LNG Shipping SpA, owns the 1997-built LNG Portovenere and the 1998-built LNG Lerici. Both of the vessels have a capacity of 65,000 cubic metres.

The Italian company scrapped in 2012 two of its old 40,000-cbm carriers, namely the LNG Palmaria and LNG Elba, built in 1969 and 1970.

“We confirm that we are considering a number of solutions for the evolution of our fleet, also taking into account the growth expected in the medium term in LNG activities,” an Eni spokesperson told LNG World News late Friday.

“We have discussed the issue with trade unions and the crews themselves, to try and find an outcome which would be positive for all those involved, ” the spokesperson said.

Eni, however, declined to comment on the potential sale of the LNG duo saying that the company does not comment on specific commercial operations such as asset sales.

By Mirza Duran