HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- The oil and gas subsidiary of General Electric Co. said Tuesday it is operating the first gravity-based offshore liquefied natural gas terminal that is expected to save time in the construction of an LNG project off Italy's northeast coast in the Adriatic Sea.

GE Oil and Gas has installed the artificial island gravity-based structure, which is owned and operated by Adriatic LNG.

The project includes a reinforced concrete box on the sea floor and houses two LNG storage tanks. It's 1,230 feet long by 377 feet wide.

Tony Mercer, project manager for Aker Kvaerner Contracting International, Adriatic LNG's primary contractor, said the GE Oil and Gas project will help save time in construction and commissioning of the LNG project.

The Adriatic LNG terminal will significantly increase Italy's regasification capacity, is larger than two soccer fields and reaches as high as a 10-story building. It has two LNG tanks with a combined annual capacity of 8 billion cubic meters, or about 10 percent of Italy's annual gas demand.

The Adriatic LNG terminal receives shipments from Qatar, Egypt and Trinidad twice a week. The LNG is regasified at the terminal and dispatched to Italy's gas network.

Shares of GE, based in Fairfield, Conn., rose 13 cents, to $16.15 in afternoon trading.