Dutch grid operator Gasunie studying LNG expansion at Eemshaven, Gate terminal

Dutch gas grid operator Gasunie continues to explore the expansion of LNG import capacity at the northern Dutch port of Eemshaven and at the Gate terminal in Rotterdam.

In a statement, Gasunie said it had discarded the possibility of adding a temporary floating LNG terminal at the southern port of Terneuzen.

Gasunie said it is targeting a fourth tank with capacity of 4 billion cubic meters (BCM) at Gate while expanding Eemshaven to 9 bcm capacity "before the end of this year" and later to 10 bcm, from 8 bcm currently.

The Dutch government, state-owned Gasunie and private companies have moved quickly to expand the Netherlands' ability to import LNG following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The new Gasunie Eemshaven floating facility was brought online in September, while Gate -- half owned by Vopak NV -- expanded capacity to 16 bcm from 12 bcm in 2022. The addition of a fourth tank would be completed in 2025.

In December, energy company VTTI said it would build a new 5 bcm LNG terminal in the southern province of Zeeland by early 2024.

If all the projects being planned are completed, the country would have annual LNG import capacity of 35 bcm.

On Monday, the Dutch statistics office said that domestic use of natural gas had fallen by a quarter from 2021 levels to 31 bcm in 2022, the lowest in 50 years, due to a mix of higher prices and unusually warm weather. 

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