France has kicked off a project to import LNG to the Mediterranean island of Corsica as it moves to switch two power plants over to burn gas.
The Ministry for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition in Paris has floated an enquiry to select an operator to build and run a natural gas supply infrastructure for existing power plants at Ajaccio, on the west of the French island, and in Lucciana, near Bastia, in the far north-east.
The power stations currently use fuel oil for electricity generation. The switch to natural gas aims to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Candidates will need to demonstrate their project management skills, particularly in building and operating regasification terminals or the natural gas transmission network, and their ability to carry out complex programmes in environmentally constrained sites.
Offers are to be submitted by 31 July and remain valid into the first quarter of 2021.
It has been a long wait
The contract is part of a project financed by European Union funds.
Providers of LNG import solutions have been waiting for an official enquiry on the Corsica business for some time.
One said this is not the first time the idea has been floated for the island, which lies 175 km (105 miles) south of mainland France.
Proposals were first mooted about 10 years ago. This was followed in 2016 by a formal call for proposals to install a 40,000-cbm floating storage and regasification unit, linked by pipeline to Ajaccio’s power plant. But this plan evaporated.
Those following the most recent request for proposals said workable solutions could entail either the use of one or more FSRUs, or the installation of gravity-based structures.
Corsica has already made a move into LNG fuelling for shipping. Last year, domestic ferry operator Corsica Linea ordered a ropax newbuilding, which will bunker LNG. The vessel, which is being built at Visentini Shipyard in Italy, is due for delivery in 2023.
