Norway’s Höegh LNG and Rotterdam-based VTTI have teamed up to investigate the possibility of developing a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU)-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in the Netherlands.
The so-called Zeeland Energy Terminal is planned near the Vlissingen port in the Province of Zeeland. The vessel would be permanently moored to a jetty and connected to pipelines to bring the natural gas ashore.
With the construction of a new LNG import terminal near Vlissingen, VTTI and Höegh LNG and VTTI, co-owned by Vitol Group, IFM and ADNOC, the new terminal is aimed at securing energy supply in the Netherlands, as well as eventually play a pioneering role in the transition to clean energy carriers, such as hydrogen and ammonia.
The joint initiators of the project plan to start the permitting process in the first quarter of 2024 with the aim to invite local residents, businesses, civil society organizations, governing bodies and other interested parties to participate.
Expected to become operational in the second half of 2027, the facility would have an annual throughput capacity of up to 7.5bn cu m, which corresponds to around 25% of the current total average gas consumption in the Netherlands.
There are currently two LNG import terminals in the Netherlands, one located at Maasvlakte, Rotterdam and Eemshaven, Groningen.
Höegh LNG’s fleet comprises ten FSRUs and three LNG carriers. The 2013-built 160,000 cu m Hoegh Gandria was bought earlier this year, from Eastern Pacific Shipping-led LNG shipowner CoolCo in a deal worth around $184m. The ship, formerly known as Golar Seal and for which Höegh LNG said provides flexibility to pursue FSRU conversion opportunities, is currently employed on a one-year contract ending in March 2024.
