Yamal LNG and Fluxys LNG sign transhipment agreement

Yamal LNG’s subsidiary, Yamal Trade, and Fluxys LNG have signed a contract for transhipment of up to 8 million tpy of LNG at the port of Zeebrugge, Belgium.

The 20-year contract will help support year-round LNG deliveries from the Yamal Peninsula to Asian-Pacific markets. It reinforces the Belgian gas system as a crossroads for international flows and positions Zeebrugge as an all-round LNG hub in Northwest Europe. The LNG terminal will provide a complete range of services for large LNG volumes as well as for small scale use for vessel bunkering and trailer loading. The transhipment services require the construction of a fifth storage tank and additional process facilities.

During the Arctic summer, Yamal LNG will be delivering its LNG to Asian-Pacific markets via the Northern Sea Route using ice class ARC7 LNG tankers. In winter, the Arctic LNG tankers will transit via the Zeebrugge LNG terminal, where Fluxys LNG will provide services to tranship LNG onto conventional vessels used to make final delivery to Asian-Pacific markets via the Suez Canal.

Gas hub

Evgeniy Kot, General Director Yamal LNG, commented: “As the Yamal LNG Project is progressing well, following the schedule, signature of this agreement marks another important step in the life of the project. A transhipment platform in Northwest Europe is a key element to our transportation and logistics arrangement. A contract with Fluxys LNG, an experienced and reliable partner, will secure the LNG supply chain for our buyers.”

Pascal De Buck, CEO Fluxys Belgium, said: “We are very pleased to take with Yamal LNG the versatility of the LNG terminal in Zeebrugge to yet another level. Belgian federal regulator CREG has been very cooperative in the design of an appropriate regulatory framework for the new transhipment services we will offer. Thanks to a long-term agreement with such an ambitious LNG supplier we will embark on a new considerable investment for the terminal development.”

Joachim Coens, Managing Director Port of Zeebrugge, added: “We are very pleased with this contract and the cooperation between Fluxys LNG and Yamal LNG. This cooperation is a valorisation of the experience and knowhow of Fluxys in Zeebrugge and a reinforcement of our port as a gas hub. We are looking forward to this new impulse for our port and the challenge that goes along with it.”

Edited from press release by Callum O'Reilly

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/regasification/06032015/yamal-lng-and-fluxys-lng-sign-transhipment-agreement-372/