Edison confident of positive outcome in Venture Global LNG arbitration

By Francesca Landini

MILAN (Reuters) -The chief executive of Italian utility Edison said on Thursday he was confident of a positive outcome in arbitration involving U.S. liquefied natural gas supplier Venture Global, expected by the end of the year.

Edison is one of several European energy companies, including Shell, BP and Galp, that have filed arbitration claims saying Venture Global deliberately failed to fulfil its supply contracts, dragging its feet when commissioning one of its plants so it could profit from higher spot prices.

Commissioning, or making sure a new plant's systems are functioning as intended, can take months, but the process dragged on at Calcasieu Pass due to a number of unforeseen circumstances, Venture Global has said.

"From our point of view, we think we are totally right... We think there is very clear evidence," Edison's Nicola Monti said on the sidelines of a company presentation.

Edison received its first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Venture Global in mid-May, two and a half years after it had initially agreed under a long-term contract signed with the U.S. supplier in 2017.

Italy's biggest LNG importer will receive 1.4 billion cubic metres of the gas from Venture Global each year under the agreement.

Edison also imports LNG from Qatar, Libya, Algeria and Azerbaijan and it is interested in increasing supply from both Qatar and the United States as the two countries bring additional capacity to the market, Monti said.

New contracts with U.S. LNG suppliers could start in 2028-2029, Edison's Chief Financial Officer Ronan Lory said.

"Italy used to be dependent on Russia for 40% of its gas imports and now Algeria is its privileged supplier, there is room for more diversification," Monti said.

Between 2023 and 2024, Edison invested 1.2 billion euros ($1.36 billion) of the 10 billion euros earmarked by 2030 to expand renewable and flexible generation, value-added services for customers, and its gas and green gas portfolio.

($1 = 0.8853 euros)

(Reporting by Francesca Landini; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)