1st LNG Tanker Docks At New Dutch Floating Terminal

by John Konrad (gCaptain) Two FSRUs (Floating Storage Regasification Units) arrived this week at the Dutch port of Eemshaven’s new terminal and has already starting unloading it’s first LNG Tanker, the operator Eemshaven LNG said today. The FSRUs will help replace capacity cuts on Russia’s Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

The LNG tanker Murex berthed alongside the regasification unit at the new EemsEnergyTerminal. The Terminal can handle 8 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas a year, a Gasunie spokesperson said.

The terminal’s gas should start entering the Dutch grid next week, but the station won’t operate at full capacity until November or December.

The terminal, near Groningen, has two Floating Storage Regasification Units (FSRUs) that Gasunie leased at the request of the Dutch government. Until this year, the Netherlands only had an LNG terminal in the port of Rotterdam. The expansion in the Eemshaven and the optimization of the terminal in Rotterdam will double the import capacity for LNG.

The LNG terminal in the port of Eemshaven will operate floating FSRUs (floating storage and regasification units), the Exmar S188 and the Golar Igloo. Together, the two FSRUs have a throughput capacity of approximately 8 bcm per year, which can contribute significantly to ensuring the security of supply and reducing dependence on Russian gas.

“Everything is going perfectly,” Marie-Lou Gregoire of Gasunie told Reuters.

The capacity at the facility has been booked by Shell, France’s Engie, and CEZ of the Czech Republic. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Dutch Energy Minister Rob Jetten will declare the facility formally open at a ceremony tonight.

Gas from the terminal is expected to start entering the Dutch grid for the first time next week, although the station will not operate at full capacity until November or December.

The capacity in Eemshaven will complement the larger Gate Terminal in Rotterdam, now operating at 16 bcm capacity and which is planning a further 4 bcm expansion by 2025.

The new capacity in Eemshaven will supplement the larger Gate LNG Terminal in Rotterdam. The Rotterdam terminal is currently operating at 16 bcm capacity and is planning a further 4 bcm expansion by 2025.

Related Video – EXMAR’s FSRU

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Edmund Blair, Reuters)