LNG

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.

Gasunie, the Dutch utility and LNG import terminal shareholder in the Netherlands and Germany, said it was working on options to increase LNG with further expansion of the existing capacity off the North Sea port at Eemshaven and at the Gate facility in Rotterdam.

Gasunie admitted that a recently announced feasibility study had shown that a new floating LNG terminal in the port of Terneuzen in the Dutch Zeelandic region was not feasible in the short term.

“In this study, Gasunie is working closely with Vopak,” said the utility in reference to the Dutch storage company and its partner in the Rotterdam terminal.

“The aim of realising temporary LNG import capacity in Terneuzen in the short term and for a limited period proved to be technically and commercially unfeasible,” explained Gasunie.

“It is therefore unwise to embark on the construction of a temporary additional terminal,” it added.

“Gasunie thanks its project partners and stakeholders in Zeeland for the good cooperation in the study phase,” stated Groningen-based Gasunie.

Brunsbüttel stake

Gasunie is additionally a shareholder in the proposed German onshore LNG import terminal at Brunsbüttel on the Elbe River.

Its partners in Brunsbüttel are the German utility RWE and the German federal finance agency, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW).

Gasunie said that the exploration of a new floating LNG terminal in the Netherlands is part of a broader package of proposed measures to increase LNG import capacity.

“This is necessary to cope with the loss of Russian natural gas and reduce scarcity of gas in the European market,” said the company.

Gasunie said it would continue to explore new opportunities for import capacity.

“For example, work is now continuing on initiatives to further expand the existing capacity of the LNG terminals in the Netherlands at Maasvlakte (Gate terminal) and in Eemshaven,” said the company.

“At the Gate terminal, this involves a possible fourth tank with a capacity of 4 billion cubic metres of natural gas and at Eemshaven, a technical optimisation of the existing plant is being investigated,” it added.

“The ambition of EemsEnergy Terminal is to be able to handle 9 billion cubic metres of natural gas before the end of this year and then to grow to 10 Bcm,” stated Gasunie.

Royal Vopak, the Netherlands-based global storage company with stakes in liquefied natural gas terminals and a new LNG import project for Hong Kong, increased its first-quarter revenues and net profits as it also helped Germany’s LNG import ambitions.