At the end of September, Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands officially opened the first Dutch import terminal for LNG. Gate (Gas Access To Europe) terminal is located on the Maasvlakte in Rotterdam. https://www.swzonline.nl/weblog/3[SWZonline has collected some videos about the arrival of the first LNG tanker, the opening ceremony and an animation of the terminal].
https://www.gate.nl/home.html[Gate terminal] has been developed by N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie and Royal Vopak. The terminal will serve as an independent distribution point for European energy companies to address the rising demand for and declining production of natural gas in northwestern Europe. As an independent import terminal for LNG, Gate terminal will be an important factor for the European receipt of gas from other overseas territories. The terminal will both increase the security of supplies and enable new players to enter the European gas market.
16 Billion Cubic Meters Throughput
Gate terminal has already begun to receive LNG by ship, which is subsequently regasified and prepared for distribution to the Dutch gas transport network and further transport to northwestern European markets. With an initial throughput capacity of 12 billion cubic meters per annum (equals 25% of annual Dutch gas consumption), the terminal consists of three storage tanks with a total storage capacity of 540,000 cubic meters, two jetties and a process area where the LNG is being regasified. In the future, the terminal’s throughput capacity can be increased to 16 billion cubic meters per annum by building a fourth tank.
First Commercial LNG
During the test fase in June and Juli, three tankers delivered LNG to the terminal, but early September the LNG tanker Bu Samra delivered the first commercial load (photo). The tanker has a capacity of 266,000 m3 and is of the so-called Q-max type with a length of 345 m and a width of 46 m. Nakilat owns the ship and transports LNG from the Qatar Liquefied Gas Company to Europe. https://www.swzonline.nl/weblog/3[Watch the video of the Bu Samra visiting Gate on SWZonline].
Picture: Aerial view of the first commercial LNG tanker visiting Gate Terminal (https://www.gate.nl/home.html[Gate])
