Agreement between Snam and Higas for Oristano, step forward for Sardinia methanisation

For the methanisation of Sardinia, there is a first step: Snam has signed with the shareholders of Higas, the company that owns the Oristano coastal LNG depot, an agreement preparatory to the acquisition of 100% of the company's share capital after a "period of analysis and negotiation exclusive to the possible acquisition", as well as "the expansion and conversion of the current coastal depot into a floating storage and regasification unit (Fsru)".

This is an 'important' step that should pave the way for the distribution of methane in more than a quarter of the region's territory. "The operation, once finalised, will allow the natural gas regasified by the future Fsru in Oristano to be introduced into the transport network soon to be built in Sardinia," Snam writes in a note, "which will serve the central-southern industrial and thermoelectric segment of the island and the users in the provinces of Cagliari, Oristano, Medio Campidano and Sulcis Iglesiente. That's not all, because the installation of the Fsru "will also allow the supply of natural gas volumes functional to the methanisation of the region, while increasing storage capacity by about ten times compared to the current one.

A first step considered by the trade unions as 'fundamental for the relaunch of the industrial sector of the entire region'.

"The attention and interest of important companies,' says Francesco Garau, secretary of Filctem Sardegna, 'certifies the goodness of the project. This agreement paves the way for a strengthening of that coastal deposit and gives us a guarantee on the application of the Dpcm. Next to the operation, the other scenarios: 'The first point concerns the relaunch of Eurallumina and the 300 million investment plan,' he adds, 'then the other initiatives that range from agro-industry to ceramics to new productions that can be brought to Sardinia, which, by closing the energy gap, will be able to compete with other regions.

For Emanuele Cani, regional councillor for Industry, 'it is clear that the approval of the Dpcm has set in motion a series of activities to reorganise the sector'. 'Without going into the merits of the agreements between the companies,' he adds, 'we hope that understandings can be useful and helpful to the definition of Sardinia's methanisation programme'.