Royal Vopak of the Netherlands, the world’s leading independent tank storage company and LNG terminals shareholder, said it aimed to take a 50 percent stake in the floating LNG project at the Dutch port of Eemshaven though was pulling out of an LNG terminal venture in Hong Kong.
Vopak said it had agreed to acquire a 50 percent stake in the Eemshaven project from Dutch utility Gasunie.
“This transaction will be subject to a number of conditions, including the approval from the competition authorities. The transaction is targeted to be completed at the latest by 1 October 2023,” Vopak said.
The EemsEnergyTerminal is an LNG import terminal located in the seaport of the province of Groningen.
“Gasunie developed this new floating LNG terminal in the Eemshaven area in response to gas supply insecurities and a desire to reduce the dependency on Russian gas,” Vopak explained.
Vopak has additionally decided to no longer pursue the acquisition of a 49.99 percent stake in a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) owned by Japanese shipping company Mitsui Osk Lines and deployed in Hong Kong.
FSRU plans
“Vopak has been working with MOL for developing and commissioning the Hong Kong FSRU LNG terminal, and Vopak has contributed much to the establishment of a reliable system for the operation and maintenance of the terminal,” Vopak stated.
“Although the commercial start is expected later this year, the delay of the project has resulted in reduced attractiveness and made Vopak decide not to make use of the share right,” it added.
Vopak said it would remain involved in the commissioning of the terminal and would continue to provide support to the operation of the terminal as required.
The Eemshaven LNG facility has been operational since September 2022 and has a regasification capacity of 8 billion cubic metres per year.
It comprises two FSRUs, the “Energos Igloo” and an FSRU barge built in China for Belgian shipping company Exmar.
Vopak said that the partners would explore ways of increasing capacity further.
Vopak and Gasunie are also partners in the main Dutch LNG import terminal, the onshore Gate facility at the port of Rotterdam.
Dutch security
“This agreement highlights the commitment of Gasunie and Vopak to jointly develop and operate open access LNG infrastructure in the Netherlands and to contribute to the energy security of Europe,” the statement added.
Ulco Vermeulen, director of business development at Gasunie, said he was pleased with Vopak’s decision to become a co-shareholder in EemsEnergyTerminal.
“By pooling our knowledge and experience we will offer a unique and reliable LNG import solution,” Vermeulen added.
Walter Moone, president New Energies and LNG at Vopak, said he was keen to build on the existing successful partnership with Gasunie.
“This fits very well with Vopak’s strategy to grow in LNG infrastructure and accelerate towards new energies,” Moone explained.
“We are proud to develop and operate reliable and open access infrastructure as this plays an important role both in the security of energy as well as in the energy transition,” added Moone.
