Dutch gas grid operator Gasunie and compatriot storage tank firm Vopak have taken a final investment decision to build the fourth storage tank and add more regasification capacity at their Gate LNG terminal in the port of Rotterdam.
The expansion consists of a new LNG storage tank of 180,000 cubic meters and additional regasification capacity of 4 Bcm per year.
Gasunie and Vopak will invest about 350 million euros ($380.1 million) in this project and the two firms expect to complete the project financing by the end of 2023, according to a joint statement.
About 15 percent of the costs will be funded with equity and and 85 percent of the costs will be funded via a non-recourse project financing.
Also, the new capacity is already rented out under long-term commercial agreements and is expected to be ready for operation by the second half of 2026.
UK-based energy giant BP and a unit of PetroChina have previously agreed to book long-term capacity at the Gate LNG import terminal.
They will each acquire 2 Bcm per year of regasification and also corresponding storage capacity for a period of 20 years.
Vopak and Gasunie are the founders and owners of Gate terminal in Rotterdam which has been operational since 2011.
The terminal plays a crucial role in the supply and availability of gas in the Netherlands and its neighboring countries.
Once all planned projects at Gate terminal have been completed, the terminal will have a total regas capacity of 20 billion cubic meters per year and four LNG tanks with 720,000 cbm of storage capacity.
Increasing Dutch LNG import capacity
Hans Coenen, on behalf of the board of directors of Gasunie, said the investment in this new tank is part of a broader package of proposed and already realized measures to increase LNG import capacity in the Netherlands.
“This is necessary to compensate for the loss of Russian natural gas and to reduce the scarcity of natural gas on the European gas market,” he said.
“We are excited to build upon our successful partnership with Gasunie,” Dick Richelle, CEO at Vopak, said.
“This investment fits well with Vopak’s strategy to grow in LNG infrastructure,” he said.
The Netherlands now has two LNG import terminals with the the addition of the FSRU-based facility in the port of Eemshaven.
Gasunie, recently said that its FSRU-based LNG import facility in the port of Eemshaven has received its 50th shipment since the launch in September last year.
The company signed a deal in April with Vopak to sell 50 percent of the LNG hub which features two FSRUs.