As opposition to a gas storage ship permanently berthed in Marsaxlokk Port grows, Enemalta argues mooring the vessel out at sea would increase “project risk”.
A vessel out at sea would have to include an onboard re-gasificator as well as storage facilities for liquefied natural gas (LNG), which, according to Enemalta, is “relatively new technology”.
“The gas and power project is a critical national project and shall be providing gas supply for the entire Maltese islands.
“Hence it was critical to opt for long-proven technologies,” a company spokesman said.
There are two instances in the Mediterranean of floating LNG terminals and both are relatively new projects.
The first floating re-gasificator and LNG storage ship, the vessel Excellence, started operating in January last year some five nautical miles off the Israeli coast.
Further risk assessments will be commissioned and will continue to tackle concerns raised during the consultation
However, it serves as a back-up supply in case of emergency.
A commercial floating LNG terminal started its commissioning phase in Italy last December.
The converted ship, FSRU Toscana, is moored some 12 nautical miles off the Tuscan coast to provide gas to the port city of Livorno. The distance is slightly less than it would be if a ship is moored at Hurd’s Bank off the Marsascala coast.
FSRU Toscana was converted in Dubai in 2012 and visited Malta last year en route to Italy.
In both instances the ships are connected to shore with an underwater pipeline – referred to as a gas buoy – through which gas flows to the power stations.
Reuters reported last week that the Israeli gas buoy cost some €106 million to build.
The current project set up in Malta will see a floating gas storage facility moored at Delimara with an onshore re-gasificator.
But many organisations and residents have expressed concern over the gas storage ship’s location inside Marsaxlokk Port, so close to the power station complex and the large communities of Marsaxlokk and Birżebbuġa.
At a public hearing on the environmental impact assessment of the gas power project last week residents and experts called for the storage facility to be relocated outside the port for safety reasons.
Enemalta did consider various options including locating a floating storage and re-gasificator unit outside the port but the spokesman insisted these would have increased “complexity, project risk and uncertainty”.
Although Enemalta’s principal concern seems to be that a floating facility outside Marsaxlokk Port could compromise security of supply as a result of bad weather, there are also financial considerations at play.
The spokesman said the current option on which the EIA studies were based provided the best solution to tackle air quality problems in the area, ensure security of supply and “affordability of energy prices”.
The implication is that the construction of a gas buoy in deep waters to link up to a ship moored at Hurd’s Bank could raise project costs considerably, with a knock-on negative effect on electricity prices.
It also means a lengthier process to commission a floating LNG terminal and construct the pipeline, which will certainly put into disarray the government’s commitment to have this project completed in 22 months.
The Enemalta spokesman said that, following the consultation process, the company was reviewing all suggestions made, however no commitment was given as to whether the LNG terminal would be re-positioned outside the port.
“Further risk assessments forming part of Mepa’s IPPC procedure [the environment permit] will be commissioned in the coming months and these will continue to tackle concerns raised during the consultation process,” the spokesman said.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com