Baker Hughes to Provide Compressor Trains for Snam's Adriatic Line

Baker Hughes has secured a contract to provide three NovaLT12 gas turbine-driven compressor trains for a new gas compressor station in Sulmona, Italy, to European natural gas operator Snam SPA.

The station is an integral part of the Adriatic Line, a Snam pipeline project, whose first phase was included in Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) as part of the REpowerEU Plan. The Adriatic Line project entails the construction of a 264-mile (425-kilometer) long, hydrogen-ready pipeline to allow the transport of additional energy supplies from Azerbaijan, Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean region to northern Europe.

The contract, which was awarded to Baker Hughes following a public tender, builds on a long-standing collaboration between the two companies, Baker Hughes said in a news release, adding that the contract will be booked in the first quarter. The financial details were not disclosed.

Baker Hughes said its NovaLT12 turbines will provide the option to run on 100 percent natural gas or hydrogen blends up to 10 percent. The technology will help decarbonize the Italian gas network infrastructure and aligns with Snam’s strategy to achieve carbon neutrality on direct emissions by 2040, according to the release.

“This milestone in our long-standing collaboration with Snam demonstrates that the energy transition requires continuous partnership,” Ganesh Ramaswamy, executive vice president for Industrial and Energy Technology at Baker Hughes, said. “Together, we are innovating and delivering critical world-firsts for the decarbonization of gas networks”.

“Our work with customers and partners is part of our commitment to developing innovative technology solutions, such as the NovaLT12, that enable the decarbonization of energy ecosystems and the creation of the hydrogen economy while continuing to support the need for an affordable and secure energy supply,” he added.

Snam to Up Stake in Adriatic LNG

Meanwhile, Snam exercised its preemption right to increase its stake in Terminale GNL Adriatico S.r.l. to 30 percent from 7.3 percent. Terminale GNL Adriatico owns the Adriatic LNG regasification terminal operating in the waters off Porto Viro, Italy.

The preemption right was exercised following the signing by VTTI, a Dutch energy storage and infrastructure company, of the agreement to acquire a majority stake in the company, Snam said in an earlier statement.

The closing of the transaction is expected by the end of 2024 and is subject to the necessary regulatory authorizations. Upon closing VTTI LNG will own a 70 percent stake in Adriatic LNG, and Snam will have 30 percent.

Located about 9.3 miles (15 kilometers) off the Veneto coast, Adriatic LNG’s terminal is Italy's largest offshore infrastructure for unloading, storage and regasification of liquefied natural gas (LNG), with an annual technical regasification capacity of 9.6 billion cubic meters, corresponding to about 14 percent of the current domestic gas demand.

“This operation strengthens Snam's presence in LNG infrastructure, which is increasingly strategic for the security and diversification of Italy's energy supplies,” Snam CEO Stefano Venier said. “We look forward to working together with VTTI to ensure continuous and world-class management of Adriatic LNG, which is fundamental for the Italian energy system, and to support its expansion projects”.

Last week, energy storage and infrastructure firm VTTI B.V. and Germany-based asset manager IKAV formed a consortium to acquire majority ownership of Terminale GNL Adriatico Srl.

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