Sentinel Satellites Detect Emissions from Adriatic LNG Offshore Regasification Terminal in Northern Adriatic
Sentinel satellites have detected emissions from the Adriatic LNG Offshore Regasification Terminal, the world's first gravity-based facility of its kind, located 15 km off Porto Levante. Despite ongoing environmental monitoring indicating no significant impacts from its operations, concerns arise from foam generation linked to surfactants produced by marine microorganisms. A €3.5 million MARINE ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION project has been initiated to enhance marine habitat restoration and monitoring in the critically polluted Northern Adriatic Sea.
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The Northern Adriatic Sea is critically polluted, primarily due to the inflow of 62 rivers and significant plastic pollution. The Adriatic LNG Terminal, located 15 km off Porto Levante, is the world's first gravity-based offshore LNG regasification terminal, operated by a joint venture of ExxonMobil, Qatar Petroleum, and Snam.
With a technical production capacity of 9.6 billion cubic meters per year, the terminal has been operational since October 2009. Environmental monitoring by OGS, under ISPRA and ARPAV supervision, has shown no significant impacts from terminal operations.
However, the terminal's process generates foam due to surfactants from marine microorganisms, leading to legal scrutiny. Recent satellite monitoring by ISPRA utilized Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 for gas emission detection and foam dispersion modeling. The MARINE ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION project, funded with €3.5 million, aims to enhance marine habitat restoration and monitoring capabilities.
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