Gasunie secures second FSRU for Groningen regas plant
Dutch gas infrastructure operator Gasunie reported on May 10 it had signed a binding contract for the lease of a second floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) to be stationed at its planned LNG import terminal in Eemshaven, north of the Dutch city of Groningen.
The vessel has been leased from US firm New Fortress Energy for a five-year period, and is expected to arrive in the third quarter of this year. At the end of April Gasunie also secured an FSRU from Belgium's Exmar for the LNG project, which will have an overall regasification capacity of 8bn m3/year. The Exmar vessel will also arrive in the third quarter.
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The Eemshaven LNG terminal will make use of existing gas infrastructure that was built to serve the Groningen field, once west Europe's largest gas producer. Groningen has been undergoing a phased closure because of earthquakes caused by production activities, and is due to cease gas flow completely next year.
A recently launched tender has attracted "overwhelming" interest in use of the LNG terminal, Gasunie said, with over 15 parties so far registering their interest. Demand is four times greater than the facility's capacity, it said. Parties have until June 10 to agree binding LNG supply contracts.
LNG import projects across Europe are gaining momentum as the continent looks to phase out all imports of Russian gas in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. In the Netherlands, Gasunie and its partner Vopak also plan to expand the capacity of the existing Gate LNG terminal by 4bn m3/yr by 2026, bringing its overall capacity to 16bn m3/yr.