The Italian Government has approved the acquisition of a 70% stake in the Adriatic LNG terminal by VTTI, reported Reuters, citing sources.   

Earlier this year, ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy agreed to sell their stakes in the Adriatic LNG terminal. 

Italian gas grid operator Snam is set to increase its holding to 30%, complementing VTTI's majority stake.  

This acquisition marks VTTI's first operational LNG asset, expanding its portfolio, which is also supported by energy and commodities company Vitol, IFM Investors and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

Located off the Veneto coastline, the Adriatic LNG terminal has a regasification capacity of 9.6bcm of natural gas per year, equivalent to half of Italy's LNG import capacity and 14% of the nation's gas consumption.  

The terminal is located 15km offshore of the Veneto region. 

This deal comes at a time when Europe is seeking to diversify its energy sources following the reduction of pipeline gas supplies due to the conflict in Ukraine. 

The value of the transaction is estimated to be around €800m ($874.05m), including debt.  

Earlier in May, VTTI expanded its LNG infrastructure footprint by agreeing to acquire a 50% stake in Dragon LNG from Ancala, an infrastructure asset manager.  

Situated close to Milford Haven in Wales, the Dragon LNG terminal features infrastructure for receiving, storing, reliquefying, regasifying and dispatching LNG. 

It can deliver up to 9bcm of gas to the UK national transmission system.