CEO of the Italian Edison company, Nicola Monti, said today, Tuesday, that the company is receiving regular supplies of liquefied natural gas after it rescheduled the scheduled delivery dates from Qatar until the end of next April, to spare the shipments from crossing the Red Sea.
The attacks launched by the Houthi group in the Red Sea on Israeli or Israel-linked cargo ships disrupted the transport of goods and commodities to European countries, especially Italy.
Qatar, one of the world’s largest exporters of liquefied natural gas, informed Edison last January that its LNG shipments would take a longer route via the Cape of Good Hope due to the Red Sea crisis.
Monti said that Edison adapted to the new situation after it encountered problems in a delivery process that was expected at the Italian sea port of Rovigo for liquefied natural gas in early February.
He told Reuters, “All deliveries for February, March and April have been confirmed and rescheduled according to the new route that the shipments will take due to… weak security… in the Red Sea.”
Tankers are forced to sail around Africa in the wake of Houthi attacks.
“So far… there has only been one cancellation, and it has already been compensated over the past month,” Monty added.
He expressed his aspiration for trade flows to return to normal after next April, noting that Edison will remain in close contact with Qatar on logistical issues.
Edison has a diversified portfolio in the gas field and hopes to soon begin obtaining liquefied natural gas from Venture Global after the American supplier failed to fulfill scheduled deliveries, which affected Edison’s results in 2023.
“Arbitration proceedings between us and Venture Global are ongoing,” Monti said. “We expect a result in the first half of 2025.”
The Italian company affiliated with the French group ADF said last year that it had initiated arbitration proceedings against Venture Global because the American group had not transported liquefied natural gas shipments as agreed upon under a contract signed in 2017.
