LNG

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 said first-half net profits increased in a market little affected by the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic as the Zeebrugge LNG import terminal experienced record traffic and there was keen interest for additional send-out capacity.

Fluxys LNG, the operator of the Zeebrugge import terminal in Belgium, said it intended to launch a subscription window in the second half of April for unloading slots and additional storage services at the facility.

Fluxys Belgium, the operator of the Belgian natural gas network and the Zeebrugge LNG import terminal, reported a drop in net profits due to one-off tax items and higher investments as Russian LNG trans-shipments activities rose along with small-scale fuel loadings.

Fluxys Belgium, the natural gas infrastructure company and operator of the Zeebrugge LNG import terminal, posted a first-half profits rise as shipping activity rose, including more carriers arriving for the trans-shipment of cargoes from the Yamal export plant in Russia.

Fluxys group of Belgium, owner of the LNG import facility at the Belgian port of Zeebrugge, has now agreed to acquire full ownership of the Dunkirk LNG terminal on the French Channel Coast.

Zeebrugge LNG Terminal, owned by Belgian company Fluxys, has begun the first loading operations for the small-scale carrier “Coral EnergICE”, an Ice-Class vessel designed to make year-round deliveries of break-bulk cargoes to Scandinavian ports.

Fluxys, the Belgian energy and natural gas pipeline company as well as owner of the Zeebrugge liquefied natural gas import terminal, has taken over the LNG bunkering concession in the port of Antwerp in Belgium.

Fluxys Belgium, the transmission network company and operator of the Zeebrugge LNG terminal, posted a rise in profits of around 45 percent, boosted by tax reforms while also benefiting from the closure of the main UK gas storage expansion of its own LNG offerings of truck fuel and small-scale cargo loadings.

European natural gas pipeline and LNG terminal companies, Fluxys of Belgium and Snam of Italy, have agreed to buy the one-third stake held in Interconnector UK, the bi-directional pipeline linking the UK to Belgium and the Continent, from a Canadian fund.