Page 13 - GLNG Week 07 2023

GLNG EUROPE GLNG

Netherlands rules out Terneuzen

LNG terminal

NETHERLANDS NETHERLANDS transmission system opera- Gasunie began operations of the 8bn cubic
tor NV Nederlandse Gasunie said on February meter (bcm) per year EemsEnergyTerminal
The project is not 14 that a proposed floating storage and regasi- in the port of Eemshaven, which includes two
considered viable. fication unit (FSRU) at the Terneuzen port is no FSRUs and saw an investment of $523mn from
longer viable. Gasunie.
“The aim of realizing temporary LNG import Instead, Gasunie will now seek to expand
capacity in Terneuzen in the short term and for a LNG import capacity at its two existing termi-
limited period proved to be technically and com- nals. The company hopes to increase capacity at
mercially unfeasible,” Gasunie said in a state- the EemsEnergyTerminal to 9 bcm by the end of
ment Tuesday. “It is therefore unwise to embark 2023. It then seeks to further increase capacity to
on the construction of a temporary additional 10 bcm by the end of 2024. Meanwhile, Gasunie
terminal,” the company added. is also considering adding a 4 bcm storage tank
The decision was taken following the com- at the 16 bcm per year Gate import terminal in
pletion of a study jointly carried out by Gasunie Rotterdam.
and Dutch multinational Royal Vopak NV. The Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,
proposal for an FSRU terminal at Terneuzen was European nations have flocked to FSRUs to help
first revealed in December. fill the supply gap since they can be deployed
The announcement comes as the country is more quickly than building onshore terminals.
in the midst of attempting to increase its LNG Around 20 FRSUs are planned to be deployed
imports as it shifts away from Russian gas fol- in Europe for the coming years, with a handful
lowing the invasion of Ukraine. In September, already in operation. ™

Dutch gas use slumps to 50-year low

NETHERLANDS DUTCH natural gas consumption plummeted year 75% full, with 10.8 bcm in storage. This was
by 25% in 2022 compared to the previous year, more than twice the level at the end of 2021. Like
The Netherlands reaching the lowest point in 50 years, Statistics other European countries, the Netherlands has
reduced its gas use in Netherlands (CBS) reported on February 13. made a concerted push to expand storage levels
response to soaring The decrease is attributed to surging prices to reduce the risk of shortages during periods of
prices and Russian after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The total peak demand. While the 2022-23 European win-
cuts. amount of gas used was 31 bcm, which is lower ter has proved to be mild, governments are now
than the levels recorded in 1972, when the pop- preparing steps to ensure that there is enough
ulation was significantly smaller. supply in storage to cover demand next winter.
The reduction in usage was observed across That may include the provision of incentives to
all sectors, with large industrial firms and house- reduce consumption. ™
holds cutting consumption by approximately
25% on average. Chemical companies reduced
their usage more than electrical utilities, while
large greenhouses, which use gas for heating,
used about 30% less gas in 2022. Households
also benefited from an unseasonably warm
autumn, which resulted in a 10% reduction in
consumption.
The CBS reported that higher imports of
LNG, including from the new Eemshaven ter-
minal, which was developed in response to Rus-
sia’s reduction in gas exports, more than offset
the lower pipeline imports. Russia’s Gazprom cut
off gas supply to Dutch buyers after their refusal
to comply with a Kremlin decree requiring pay-
ment for supplies in rubles instead of the curren-
cies stipulated in contracts.
The country’s gas storage facilities ended the

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