National Grid’s Grain LNG import terminal in the UK received a record number of LNG carriers last year on the back of high demand in Europe.
According to a statement by National Grid, 91 LNG tankers docked at the facility in Kent.
This marks a 60 percent rise compared to 66 ships in 2021, which also marked a record.
As well as being a record year, the fourth quarter was also a record quarter for Grain LNG, with 37 ships docking between September and December compared to a seasonal average of 16.
Following regasification, these supplies can be sent out into the National Transmission System (NTS) throughout the UK or exported into Europe to support neighboring countries.
In 2022, Grain LNG sent over 82 TWh into the UK’s NTS, compared to 59 TWh in 2021, an almost 40 percent increase, National Grid said.
Also, during the recent cold spell, the facility broke a series of records, reaching over 90 percent of its capacity, pushing out 600 GWh of gas into the UK’s network over the month, compared to between 200 and 400 GWh in a typical December, the firm said.
Europe’s gas reserves
The UK, which represents aabout 20 per cent of Europe’s total LNG import capacity, has also been instrumental in the restocking of European gas reserves, which are in the region of 100 billion cubic meters (bcm), according to National Grid.
In fact, the UK was responsible for filling circa 16 percent of Europe’s gas reserves this winter, the firm claims.
“Where global supply patterns have shifted from a reliance on Russian gas, LNG has filled the hole and become a key enabler for Europe to reach its 90 percent storage target,” it said.
Before the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the UK received around 30 percent of LNG from Russia but, due to the events of the last 12 months, this has changed, with around a third of the ships coming into Grain from the US, National Grid said.
Other sources include Nigeria, Chile and Peru.
National Grid owns the terminal, infrastructure and storage tanks, and works with a range of customers who use the terminal.
The primary customers include BP/Sonatrach, Centrica, Pavilion Energy, TotalEnergies, and Uniper, according to National Grid’s website.
QatarEnergy also booked capacity from 2025 as part of the expansion of the Grain terminal.
The terminal currently has eight tanks with a capacity of 1 bcm and an annual throughput capacity of 20 bcm.