Dutch Gate terminal in the Rotterdam port, one of Europe’s main LNG hubs, is to receive its first liquefied natural gas cargo from Australia.
The 2019-built 173,400-cbm Maran Gas Hydra, owned by Greece’s Maran Gas and chartered by Shell, has already arrived in the Rotterdam port.
According to its AIS data provided by VesselsValue, the vessel loaded the cargo in mid-June at Shell’s QCLNG plant on Curtis Island off Australia’s Gladstone.
After that, the vessel visited Chile’s Quintero LNG import facility. Prior to heading to Gate, it stopped at Trinidad’s Point Fortin LNG export plant at the end of July, the data shows.
Gate’s commercial manager, Stefaan Adriaens, told LNG Prime the cargo that would be delivered to Gate on Friday includes LNG from Australia but the majority of the shipment comes from Trinidad.
“The arrival of the first Australian molecules at Gate is a sign of the times: Europe needs every molecule available and the LNG industry shows its flexibility and agility to help in the current energy crisis,” Adriaens said.
Gate and other terminals in Europe have seen a significant increase in deliveries since the last year due to a lack of pipeline gas supply and high gas prices, attracting LNG cargoes from the US and other sources.
European countries are fast-tracking LNG imports as part of plans to slash reliance on Russian gas and diversify supply sources.
In order to cater to the increasing demand, Gasunie and Vopak are expanding the Gate facility to add two more truck loading bays to boost the total to five.
Following modifications, investments, and successful tests, Gate now has an annual capacity of 12 bcm on a firm basis and 4 bcm on an interruptible basis.
Gate’s owners also aim to add the fourth LNG storage tank as part of the expansion plans.