Dutch Gate LNG terminal in the port of Rotterdam handled a record number of vessels last year, and its owners Gasunie and Vopak are working to further expand the facility with an additional small-scale jetty and a new tank.
Launched in September 2011, the terminal has a nameplate capacity of 12 Bcm or 8.8 mtpa of LNG, three LNG storage tanks with a capacity of 540,000 cbm, three truck loading bays, and three jetties, including one small-scale jetty.
Following modifications, Gate managed to add 4 bcm of capacity on an interruptible basis, available to users already having a position in Gate.
Gate’s current users include Shell, Uniper, OMV, and Glencore. Last year, BP and PetroChina booked capacity at Gate as part of the expansion project, while ConocoPhillips secured capacity from September 2031.
In August last year, Vopak and Gasunie took a final investment decision to build the fourth LNG tank with a capacity of 180,000 cbm and to add 4 Bcm of additional regasification capacity.
Gate’s commercial manager, Stefaan Adriaens, told LNG Prime on Wednesday that the terminal regasified 14.35 Bcm in 2023, well above its nameplate capacity.
This is flat compared to 2022 when the terminal regasified 14.39 Bcm.
Gate’s sendout remained at record levels last year despite the launch of the FSRU-based LNG import hub in the Dutch port of Eemshaven, also owned by Gasunie and Vopak, and FSRU-based LNG terminals in Germany, France, and other European countries.
328 vessels
Including unloading and loading operations, the LNG terminal handled record 328 vessels last year.
Adriaens said that Gate unloaded a total of 169 LNG cargoes in 2023, compared to 183 shipments in 2022.
Out of these, 110 shipments came from US terminals, compared to 96 shipments in the year before.
Moreover, the facility loaded 159 cargoes, a jump from 84 cargoes in 2022, mainly because “competitive prices made LNG again interesting as maritime fuel,” Adriaens said.
Gate’s small-scale jetty, which launched operations in 2016, handled record 151 vessels, loading close to 900,000 cbm of LNG.
The terminal also completed record 8789 truck loading operations, compared to 8598 operations in the prior year, while work continues to progress on the fourth and the fifth truck loading stations.
Fourth jetty and fifth tank
Due to the high demand for small-scale services, Gate plans to build the second small-scale jetty at the terminal.
Adriaens revealed plans for this project back in 2018 but seems that Gate is now ready to push forward with the development.
“We would like to progress on the fourth jetty this year, as LNG keeps growing as a maritime fuel,” Adriaens said.
The new jetty would be located across the existing small-scale jetty.
Adrians said that Gate aims to “introduce permit application” for this jetty later this year.
In addition, Gate could also get the fifth LNG tank in the future but this project is still in the early stages of development.
“We will work on it but I do not anticipate we will already this year file for a permit,” he said.