Fluxys Profits Up on Belgian LNG

Belgian transmission system operator Fluxys reported higher first-half turnover and profit September 24, mainly thanks to the commissioning late last year of the fifth LNG storage tank. The additional tank at Zeebrugge is not connected to the grid and is used for transshipment services for Novatek LNG deliveries, and it was financed by partners in the project. Turnover was €284.2 ($331.3)mn, up €24.1mn on the year. Net profit rose from €31.4mn to €36.6mn. 

Transmission volumes were down 2.5% at the borders to 224 TWh and volumes for consumption on the Belgian market softened by around 3% to about 98 TWh. Distribution system operators also took 6.5% less, reflecting the milder temperatures. Despite Covid-19, offtake by directly connected industrial companies fell 0.2% while cheap gas might have boosted its role in power generation, whose demand rose 0.3%.

Twice as many tankers docked at the terminal compared with the first half of 2019: 39 vessels came to unload LNG, 75 for transshipments and two to load LNG. March 2020 was the busiest ever month for ship traffic at the terminal, it said, with a total of 30 vessels docking. That was more than double the previous record in May 2019. In the first half of the year, the terminal sent out around 11% more natural gas into the transmission system than in the same period last year. LNG-trailer traffic was also up by some 11%, with almost 1,550 LNG trailers being loaded.

Zeebrugge LNG also tested the water for additional send-out capacity over the summer and found interest in more from 2024 onwards. A binding market consultation will therefore be held later in 2020.