LNG

July 2 (LNGJ) - Belgian LNG operator Fluxys completed the subscription window for the Zeebrugge terminal from June 10 to July 1 by offering 24 additional long-term regasification slots for the period of 2027 to 2044. “The outcome of the subscription window was positive with all offered capacity subscribed on the long term,” said Fluxys.

   “In the context of the modified gas flows in Europe, Fluxys LNG has dedicated the past few years to optimising the utilisation of its infrastructure in Zeebrugge and to enhancing the scheduling of vessels by offering additional short-term capacity on top of the existing long-term base capacity of the LNG terminal,” the company added.

March 29 (LNGJ) - Fluxys Belgium, the operator of the Zeebrugge LNG import terminal and natural gas assets, reported a drop in 2023 revenues in its regulated business to €592.7 million ($640.2M) from €912.5M in the previous year. “This change is in line with the tariff methodology,” said Fluxys. Net profits declined in the year to December 2023 to €77.4M from €83.7M. “Throughout the year all our teams did everything they could to support security of supply in North-West Europe,” said Fluxys.

   “The geopolitical situation resulting from the war in Ukraine has profoundly changed the dynamics of the gas markets and the direction of flows in Europe. In addition to supplying Belgium, suppliers continued to carry large quantities of natural gas to the Netherlands and Germany via the Belgian grid,” the company added. “We reinforced the Zeebrugge-Brussels corridor with an additional pipeline to carry more natural gas inland from Zeebrugge while maintaining high flows to neighbouring countries,” Fluxys stated.

March 1 (LNGJ) - Fluxys Belgium and Fluxys LNG have reached agreement with the Belgian Federal Commission for Electricity and Gas Regulation (CREG) to propose to the market some adjustments to the tariff methodology. “In an environment characterised by high inflation and volatile and rising interest rates, these adjustments will allow Fluxys Belgium's margin to reach a fair level for the period 2024-2027,” said Fluxys.

   Fluxys Belgium and the regulator have agreed on certain changes they wish to make to the tariff methodology for the natural gas transmission system, the natural gas storage facility and the LNG terminal at Zeebrugge for the regulatory period 2024-2027. “They believe that these changes are necessary to guarantee the system operators a fair return on the capital invested in the regulated assets, and to enable them to make necessary investments,” the statement added.

Fluxys of Belgium and its subsidiary Fluxys LNG said they were seeking market interest for importing low-carbon gases to the LNG terminal at the Port of Zeebrugge.

Fluxys Belgium, the natural gas grid company and operator of the Zeebrugge LNG import terminal, has agreed to merge gas trading services and to have a single Belgian reference price from October, a move that was welcomed by gas markets.

“The question of which price index to choose for a natural gas contract is set to get simpler,” said Fluxys.

“From 1 October 2023, a single index, the Zeebrugge Trading Point (ZTP), will be used for the Belgian reference price,” the company explained.

Fluxys noted that the ZTP index was on average 14 percent lower than the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) index in 2022 because of the Belgian grid's good connections to all sources for the Northwest European market.

Merger

The move to a single index is the result of Fluxys Belgium's decision to merge the two existing gas trading services “ZTP notional” and “ZTP physical” on 1 October 2023.

“For a long time, the two gas trading services met the various preferences of wholesale market players,” Fluxys said.

“However, in recent years a shift towards the ZTP notional trading services has been observed,” the company explained.

The Belgian gas regulator, the Commission de Régulation de l’Electricité et du Gaz (CREG), has approved the merger of the two trading services and welcomed the increased transparency for the end consumer when choosing a natural gas product.

“To reflect the changed dynamics on the wholesale market, and to simplify and increase liquidity, Fluxys Belgium proposed early this year, in accordance with the sustained willingness of the CREG, to switch to a simpler system bringing together all trading volumes in the Benelux market zone at a single point, the ZTP,” Fluxys added.

“Price reporting agency ICIS will assist the market as it did with the merger of gas trading zones in France and Germany,” stated Fluxys.

Fluxys Belgium is a Euronext-listed subsidiary of infrastructure group Fluxys and headquartered in Belgium.

In addition to the Zeebrugge LNG terminal, which has an annual regasification capacity of 104 terawatt hours, Fluxys operates 4,000 kilometres of pipelines and some underground storage.

Fluxys Belgium, the national gas grid company and operator of the Zeebrugge LNG import terminal, increased revenues and profits and said its infrastructure was used particularly intensively by customers to support security of supply in Germany and the Netherlands.

Fluxys Belgium, the operator of gas infrastructure including the Zeebrugge LNG import terminal, has given the go-ahead for the construction of a new pipeline between Desteldonk and Opwijk in Belgium to improve west-to-east gas flows in the European Union.

The Fluxys Belgium Group, the operator of the Zeebrugge LNG terminal and the Belgian gas grid, increased turnover and net profits as the company explained how the invasion of Ukraine by Russia had “dramatically changed the dynamics of the gas markets and the direction of gas flows” in Europe.

Sept 26 (LNGJ)- Fluxys, the owner of the Belgian gas grid and holder of stakes in LNG terminals at Zeebrugge in Belgium and Dunkirk in France, said a new shareholder, Swiss-based Energy Infrastructure Partners (EIP), had acquired the 19.85 percent of shares in Fluxys previously held by a Canadian institutional investor, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ).

   “The equity transfer is expected to be completed by the end of 2022,” said Fluxys, without disclosing the value of the deal. Daniël Termont, President of Fluxys and representative of the main Fluxys shareholder, Publigas, said he was pleased with the transaction. “Together with CDPQ, Publigas has sailed a forward-looking course with Fluxys for more than 10 years and we have built up a highly valued partnership,” added Termont.

Dec 22 (LNGJ) - Fluxys Belgium, the subsidiary of energy infrastructure group Fluxys and operator of the Zeebrugge LNG import terminal, is planning to offer long-term natural gas storage services as well as additional flexibility as from April 2022. The Fluxys subscription window for natural gas storage has now opened and will last until January 14, 2022.

   The company, which also operates the Belgian gas grid and has a majority stake in the French Dunkirk terminal on the Channel Coast, said this was the first storage service sales under a new commercial model. “It is a highly attractive and first opportunity for storage users to subscribe to storage services with unprecedented flexibility for a period of two or up to 10 years,” said Fluxys.