LNG

Royal Vopak of the Netherlands, the world’s leading independent tank storage company and a leading liquefied natural gas terminals shareholder, posted higher first-quarter net profits and revenues as it continued to develop European Union LNG infrastructure and expanded energy joint ventures in Canada and India.

Nov 11 (LNGJ) – Royal Vopak, the Dutch storage company and shareholder in the Gate LNG import terminal in Rotterdam, reported a growing footprint in industrial terminals in China and increased send-out capacity at Gate LNG.

   Vopak posted net profits of €80.5 million ($81.1M) versus €71.2M in the same three months of 2021. Gross earnings in the quarter came to €227.4M compared with €257.3M in the 2021 quarter. Revenues rose to €349.6M from €309.5M in the prior-year quarter. “Our strong third-quarter performance demonstrates that our well diversified infrastructure portfolio uniquely positions Vopak to serve our customers amidst highly uncertain times,” said Chief Executive Dick Richelle.

Royal Vopak, the Netherlands-based global storage company with four stakes in liquefied natural gas terminals and a new LNG import project for Hong Kong, reported a 7 percent increase in earnings to €827 million ($940M) from €780M in the previous year as soft business conditions persisted in energy storage.

Royal Vopak, the Dutch storage company and shareholder in the Dutch liquefied natural gas import terminal in Rotterdam, said it was studying an LNG import facility in the south Australian state of Victoria after previously looking at a similar project in South Africa.

Vopak is an experienced LNG terminal operator and has a 50 percent stake in the Dutch Gate LNG facility in Rotterdam with 540,000 cubic metres capacity of storage.

It additionally has a 60 percent shareholding in the Mexican LNG terminal at Altamira in the Gulf of Mexico with 300,000 of tank capacity.

The company said that it was currently studying the feasibility of developing an LNG import terminal in Port Phillip Bay at Avalon in Victoria.

Vopak’s proposal for a facility using a floating storage and regasification unit is one of about half a dozen proposed for the southeast of Australia where natural gas shortages are forecast.

Victoria is the largest gas consuming state in that region of Australia and if the Vopak project moved forward the Dutch company said it it would expect first gas from around 2024.

Vopak said it planned to own 100 percent of the Victoria terminal, though it would evaluate partnering options if they arose.

“It is anticipated a facility would likely operate as a peak shaver for winter demand in the near term,” said Vopak.

Vopak in December 2020 joined US major ExxonMobil in saying it was studying possibilities for South Africa to become an LNG importer to boost gas-fired power and clean energy availability.

Vopak and ExxonMobil signed a memorandum of understanding on studying the development of a South African regasification facility.

So far no third-parties are involved in the process to make South African an LNG importing nation in the next couple of years.

The Rotterdam-based company said in its most recent earnings report that quarterly profits were impacted by Vopak’s share of a “one-off negative accounting result” of an associate industrial terminal in Malaysia.

That’s as annual net profits attributable to holders of ordinary shares of the company listed on the Dutch Euronext exchange dropped by around 47.2 percent to €300.9M from €571.0M.

Royal Vopak, the Dutch global storage and terminals company and co-owner of the Gate liquefied natural gas import facility in Rotterdam, has purchased a stake in the floating LNG terminal in the Colombian Caribbean port of Cartagena.

Vopak said it bought 49 percent of Colombian company Sociedad Portuaria el Cayao (SPEC) in Cartagena, owner of the terminal which has been in service since 2016. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

The Dutch company also owns 60 percent of the Mexican Gulf Coast onshore LNG import terminal at Altamira.

The Colombian facility consists of an LNG jetty, onshore infrastructure and 9.2 kilometres of gas pipeline connecting to the national gas grid.

A chartered floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) is receiving the LNG and sending the gas to shore. The SPEC company holds long-term supply contracts with three local gas-fired power plants.

The FSRU, the 170,050 cubic metres capacity vessel “Hoegh Grace”, is on charter from Norwegian fleet owner Hoegh LNG.

The majority shareholder in the terminal company will remain the South American utility Promigas with 51 percent.

“We are very much looking forward to this partnership with Promigas and to enter into the growing Colombian LNG market,” said Eelco Hoekstra, Chairman and Chief Executive of Vopak.

“This is another growth step in our LNG portfolio and it fits very well in our ambitions to grow and diversify our service offering in LNG,” added Hoekstra.

Promigas is a private company in the natural gas sector in Latin America with 45​​ years of experience providing access to natural gas.