Gasunie subsidiary EemsEnergyTerminal has contracted 7 billion cubic metres (bcm) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year to be delivered to Eemshaven, RTV Noord reports.
The LNG will be shipped by Czech energy giant CEZ a.s. and Shell Western LNG BV to two new floating terminals, which Gasunie installed earlier this year to help limit the country’s dependence on Russian energy. In those terminals, the LNG will be converted into ‘normal’ gas, which will then be pumped into the network. The first delivery is expected in August.
The two terminals have a total capacity of eight billion cubic meters of gas. Gasunie said it expected to contract the remaining 1 bcm in the coming months. The new facility and the existing LNG installation on the Maasvlakte will enable the Netherlands to import 24 billion cubic meters of liquified gas per year, which is double the current amount.
Gas consumption in the Netherlands has hovered around the 40 billion cubic meter mark for many years. Less than half of that gas goes to households and businesses, and the rest is used by industry and power plants. The country has proven reserves equivalent to 18.1 times its annual consumption. The giant gas reservoir stretches under almost the entire province of Groningen, however the extraction caused the ground beneath the province to sink, damaging many homes and other properties.