Exxon considers selling stake in Italian offshore LNG terminal

Exxon Mobil Corp said in a statement on Wednesday that it was considering selling a majority stake in its main regasification terminal in Italy as part of a broader strategy to divest from non-core assets.

The Rovigo LNG terminal is owned by ExxonMobil's subsidiary ExxonMobil Italia (70.7%), Qatar Energy's subsidiary Qatar Terminals Limited (22%) and Snam Spa (7.3%).

If the partners decide to divest, Italian gas pipeline network operator Snam has priority veto power over the buyer.

ExxonMobil said that while it was verifying market interest, it had not yet made a decision on a potential sale and had not identified a buyer at an early stage.

ExxonMobil spokeswoman Megan McDonald said such tests are consistent with our focused investment strategy and underscore our willingness to divest non-core assets to those where they can capture greater value.

The offshore terminal, managed by Italy's Terminale GNL Adriatico, is located in the northern Adriatic Sea, about 15 kilometers from Porto Viro in the Veneto region. The facility recently expanded its regasification capacity to 9 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.

The company stated that any transaction will not affect Exxon's import of liquefied natural gas to the Adriatic LNG terminal, nor will it affect its interests as a natural gas supplier in the Italian and European markets.