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Supply and throughput of LNG for Northwest Europe

Gate terminal on Maasvlakte in Rotterdam is the first and only LNG import terminal in the Netherlands. The terminal, a joint venture between Nederlandse Gasunie and Royal Vopak, takes care of the supply and throughput of LNG (liquefied natural gas) for Northwest Europe.

LNG arrives by carrier from areas including the Middle East, Norway and Africa. Storage tanks enable large quantities of LNG to be unloaded in one go. The terminal operates as a hub in which the product is reloaded in smaller carriers for export, or is converted into natural gas and transported via pipelines to the European distribution network. Gate terminal has facilities for loading LNG in vessels, containers and trucks. LNG can then be transported to supply natural gas in areas without a pipeline infrastructure or can contribute to supplies at petrol stations.

Gate terminal and the Port of Rotterdam are playing a leading role in the introduction of LNG as less polluting fuel for shipping and road transport. LNG has proven to be an important alternative fuel for long-distance vessel or truck transport, as a replacement for the current oil products. LNG is currently the best alternative to diesel and heavy fuel oil in the transport sector, making it a promising choice for the transition to cleaner transport. Trucks and vessels running on LNG are quieter and have almost no particulate and sulphur oxide emissions.

Functions
Gate terminal and the Port of Rotterdam are playing a leading role in the introduction of LNG as less polluting fuel for shipping and road transport. LNG has proven to be an important alternative fuel for long-distance vessel or truck transport, as a replacement for the current oil products. LNG is currently the best alternative to diesel and heavy fuel oil in the transport sector, making it a promising choice for the transition to cleaner transport. Trucks and vessels running on LNG are more quiet and have almost no particulate and sulphur oxide emissions.

Gate terminal offers services to carriers that unload LNG at the terminal. Gate terminal then ensures that LNG is loaded into other vessels, containers or trucks. A third function is the gasification and pressurisation of some of the LNG for supply to the Dutch gas transport network. This means that, as import terminal, Gate terminal fulfils the main functions of a liquefied natural gas storage and transhipment company.

The terminal has three storage tanks, three jetties, three loading sites for road tankers and containers and an area in which LNG is converted into natural gas. The tanks each have a storage capacity of 180,000 m3. The throughput capacity is 12 bcm per year. The terminal has been operational since September 2011.

Accessible location
The LNG terminal with its storage tanks and regasification plant will be built on a newly reclaimed 35 hectare site directly to the south of Maasvlakte in Rotterdam, close to the port entrance on the North Sea coast. The location provides easy access to LNG carriers and all auxiliary and handling facilities are available. The Rotterdam location also provides easy access to the nearby natural gas market in northwest Europe. Synergy will be generated with industrial complexes in the direct vicinity, for example through the use of residual heat. Gate has signed a contract with E.ON, for example, to take residual heat from the nearby E.ON power station.