Qatar Petroleum books unloading slots at Zeebrugge LNG

Qatar Petroleum and Fluxys Belgium through their respective units have signed a long-term LNG services agreement for the Zeebrugge LNG terminal.

Under the agreement, Qatar Petroleum subscribed to unloading slots at the facility from the expiry of the current long-term unloading contracts and up to 2044, Fluxys Belgium said in its statement.

Commenting on the agreement, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s minister of state for energy affairs, the president and CEO of Qatar Petroleum said, “Qatar Petroleum has long invested in and anchored LNG receiving terminal capacity in Europe, a key LNG market, as part of our supply destination portfolio diversification strategy. We continue to be committed to supporting the EU’s energy policies and to providing reliable energy supplies into Europe.”

On his part, Fluxys Belgium’s head Pascal De Buck said, “This agreement further extends our long-standing cooperation with Qatari partners, secures long-term activity at the Zeebrugge terminal and further strengthens the facility’s position as a versatile LNG gateway into Europe offering customers optimum destination flexibility. Ample pipe gas take away capacity from the terminal is readily available for delivery throughout North-West Europe as well as a range of options for downstream small-scale LNG distribution.”

Fluxys added that the new long-term LNG services agreement is the outcome of a subscription window held from April 30 to May 24, 2019, for services at the Zeebrugge LNG terminal upon expiry of the current long-term unloading contracts in 2023.

During the subscription window, the market was offered unloading slots and additional storage services at the facility over subsequent periods up to 2044. In late June, the Belgian Federal Commission for Electricity and Gas Regulation (CREG) approved the accompanying tariff and LNG services agreement proposals, clearing the way for turning the binding interest obtained through the subscription window into a long-term LNG services agreement.

The Zeebrugge LNG terminal in Belgium was commissioned in 1987. The terminal currently has 380,000 cubic meters of LNG storage capacity spread over 4 tanks and an annual throughput capacity of 9 billion cubic meters of natural gas. A fifth 180,000 cubic meters storage tank is currently under construction.