Dutch state-owned transmission system operator Gasunie transported 124bn m³last year, compared with 126bn m³ in 2016, and revenues fell by a fifth to €1.241bn ($1.530bn), thanks to regulatory cuts to tariffs and lower capacity sales. Profits for the government were up 42% at €259mn, it said March 29, but down €151mn to €371mn on a normalised basis, because of regulatory cuts, if lower impairments are ignored. It achieved total security of supply, apart from "one brief disruption at a customer." 

In 2017, to offset the decline in production of Groningen gas, Gasunie injected enough nitrogen to turn 11% more high-calorific gas into Groningen equivalent than it did in 2016. In 2013 it converted 5.7bn m³ into low-calorific gas; last year, it converted 25.8bn m³ – enough to meet all domestic demand. The company is planning to build another nitrogen injection facility as the government has decided on the total closure of Groningen  from 2030, several decades earlier than expected.

Excluding impairments in 2016 and 2017, the normalised net profit fell €151mn to €370mn. The effect of the decrease in revenues was partially limited by cost savings, lower finance expenses and a higher result on investment in associates, it said.

Across the border, Gasunie Deutschland posted total net profit of €464mn over the last five years, and continuing regulatory tightening, based in part on the efficiency achieved, will lead to lower rates and lower results in the next five-year period. Gasunie booked an impairment of €150mn on the German network for last year. It expects a stable operating result for the coming years that will be in line with the normalised operating result for 2017. 

EU imports up

Gasunie said it will remain a challenge to bridge the gap between European gas production and demand, so it decided last year to participate in the yet-to-be-built Eugal pipeline in Germany. The line will carry gas from Nord Stream 2, which is due onstream in 2019, down through Germany, roughly following Opal, which carries most of the 55bn m³/yr gas from the first Nord Stream line.

A decision was also made to facilitate reverse flow through Balgzand-Bacton Line in 2019, which will improve links between the Dutch Title Transfer Facility and the National Balancing Point in the UK – the two biggest gas hubs in Europe. "This move is expected to result in a significant increase in the trade between these two market areas," Gasunie said.

And to create more import options and therefore further increase flexibility for the market in Germany, Gasunie and partners have launched a study on the development of a terminal for liquefied natural gas near Hamburg. There is already an excess of regasification capacity along northern Europe's coast, which might be soaked up early in the next decade if markets there yield the best netbacks for the growing number of sellers of LNG.