Signed with Fratelli Neri today the first agreement that provides important employment effects on the territory.

The start-up date of the OLT Offshore LNG Toscana S.p.A regasification terminal in front of the Tuscany coast is approaching and new opportunities for the local community are arriving.

The project of the regasification terminal involves one of the historical Livorno based maritime companies, with significant positive economical and occupational outcome all over the territory.

Today, at the seat of the Municipality of Livorno, in the presence of the Livorno Mayor, the Admiral of the Harbor Office and the President of the Port Authority, the first of the agreements between OLT Offshore LNG Toscana SpA and Fratelli Neri SpA – important maritime group which operates mainly in the tug and related services, was signed and will result in Fratelli Neri SpA being in charge of all the duties related to the control, assistance, surveillance and logistic support of the terminal and supplying a fleet of specialized means and the relative staff.

The agreement is valid for 15 years with an additional 5 years option and will foresee the recruitment of approximately 40 additional personnel, such as managers, maritime staff and land based staff.

In particular there will be special attention on the research of suitable professionalism, to be increased by specific training courses. Moreover, there will be a number of employs which will be generated by the induction, such as maintenance, repair, logistic and surveillance.

To perform the duties related to the agreements, the investment expected will be more than 50 million euro dedicated also to the construction of a new fleet built expressively for the use of the future regasification terminal as a new guardian-supply vessel, a crew boat, two tugs with a towing capacity of 100 tons with escort qualification.

A specific land base will be constructed in the docking area, next to the actual tug mooring, and it will be reserved for all the regasification terminal logistic and refueling operations, including the operations for the maintenance of the naval means.

Particularly significant for the high level of specialization required from Fratelli Neri are the characteristics of the guardian-supply vessel, which will be specifically projected as it will have to grant a maximum level of safety for all the services of assistance to the terminal at any meteorological and marine condition.

This important nautical means will be active without any interruption 365 days a year and will have all the higher class certifications for what concerns also the automation and the offshore sailing.

In turn, the crew boat, which will also be constructed soon, will be a specialized means with the aim of transporting and replacing the staff between the terminal and shore (and vice versa) at any meteorological and marine condition, and it will also be able to fulfill emergency services.

In whole, the offshore regasification project with an investment of more than 600 million euro to which additional 50 million euro are foreseen with the agreements with Fratelli Neri and a strong occupational outcome, represents one of the biggest operations ever realized in the area, in total respect of the existing rules concerning environment and public health.

Moreover, it must be considered that the entire national economy will benefit from the arrival of methane gas bought from new sources on the free market at competitive prices, since it will guarantee a higher level of energetic independence for the country.

As it is well known, the ship Golar Frost is presently in the dry docks in Dubai for the conversion works and will arrive in front of the Tuscany coast during the first months of 2011, where it will be anchored at about 22.5 km from shore. The start of operation is expected during mid 2011, with a regasification capacity of 3.75 billion m3/year, which equals to approximately 4% of the national gas demand.