N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie and Royal Vopak, strategic partners in Gate terminal, have announced Gate terminal has signed a long term throughput agreement with E.ON Ruhrgas AG from Germany, one of Europe’s leading energy companies. E.ON Ruhrgas has committed itself to an annual throughput of 3 billion cubic meters (bcm) of regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
It is the fourth energy company to use Gate terminal as an entry point for the supply of LNG to the Northwest European market. Together with the previously signed agreements with DONG Energy, EconGas and Essent, a total annual throughput of 12 bcm will be accommodated by Gate terminal as of the second half of 2011, when the terminal is expected to be fully operational. As part of the agreement E.ON Ruhrgas will acquire a five per cent equity stake in Gate terminal, the first LNG import terminal under construction in the Netherlands.
With the supply of LNG by E.ON Ruhrgas, the total capacity of 540,000 cubic meters of the
three envisaged tanks has been fully contracted. To accommodate the additional incoming LNG carriers, Gate terminal will build a second jetty and install the required additional equipment.
Financing
Based on the current financing structure Gate will finance these new terminal facilities by raising additional external financing within the coming months. Gate will ask the banks under the project financing arrangements announced on July 21 to incorporate the requirements in their credit facilities. Further expansion to four storage tanks is possible. This would bring the total annual throughput capacity to 16 bcm.
Profile Gate Terminal
In 2005 Gasunie and Vopak decided to jointly develop Gate (Gas Access To Europe) terminal, the first independent LNG import terminal in the Netherlands. Imported LNG will be unloaded, stored and regasified at the terminal before distribution through the gas transmission network for the Northwest European markets. The terminal will have an initial annual throughput capacity of 12 bcm, which can be increased to 16 bcm. Companies signing throughput agreements each hold a five per cent equity stake. The remaining eighty per cent is held by Gasunie and Vopak, thereby safeguarding the independence of the terminal.
