Agreement E.ON Ruhrgas

5 August 2008

Gate LNG terminal signs agreement with E.ON Ruhrgas

N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie (Gasunie) and Royal Vopak (Vopak), strategic partners in Gate terminal, today announce that Gate terminal has signed a long term throughput agreement with E.ON Ruhrgas AG (E.ON Ruhrgas) from Germany, one of Europe’s leading energy companies. E.ON Ruhrgas has committed itself to an annual throughput of 3 billion cubic meters (bcm) of regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). It is the fourth energy company to use Gate terminal as an entry point for the supply of LNG to the Northwest European market. Together with the previously signed agreements with DONG Energy, EconGas and Essent, a total annual throughput of 12 bcm will be accommodated by Gate terminal as of the second half of 2011, when the terminal is expected to be fully operational. As part of the agreement E.ON Ruhrgas will acquire a 5% equity stake in Gate terminal, the first LNG import terminal under construction in the Netherlands.

With the supply of LNG by E.ON Ruhrgas, the total capacity of 540,000 cubic meters of the 3 envisaged tanks has been fully contracted. To accommodate the additional incoming LNG carriers, Gate terminal will build a second jetty and install the required additional equipment. Based on the current financing structure Gate will finance these new terminal facilities by raising additional external financing within the coming months. Gate will ask the banks under the project financing arrangements announced on July 21 to incorporate the requirements in their credit facilities. Further expansion to 4 storage tanks is possible. This would bring the total annual throughput capacity to 16 bcm.

John Paul Broeders, Chairman of the Executive Board of Vopak and Marcel Kramer, Chairman of the Executive Board of Gasunie, made the joint statement:
“We are very pleased that E.ON Ruhrgas has chosen Gate terminal as a new entry point for the supply of gas to Northwest Europe. Since December 2007, we have been able to sign long-term agreements with four energy companies from different European countries. This accommodates the projected need for an LNG import terminal for the Western-European markets and underlines the growing importance of the independent business model, new to the energy industry, where the terminal operator is not involved in trading activities.”

Profile Gate terminal B.V.

In 2005 N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie and Royal Vopak decided to jointly develop Gate terminal (“Gas Access To Europe”), the first independent LNG import terminal in the Netherlands. Imported LNG will be unloaded, stored and regasified at the terminal before distribution through the gas transmission network for the Northwest European markets. The terminal will have an initial annual throughput capacity of 12 billion cubic meters (bcm) and can be increased to 16 bcm per annum in the future. Four European energy companies (DONG Energy from Denmark, EconGas from Austria, E.ON Ruhrgas from Germany and Essent from the Netherlands) have signed long term throughput agreements with Gate terminal. As part of the agreement these customers (or their major shareholders) each hold a 5% equity stake in Gate terminal. The remaining 80% of shares are held by Gasunie and Vopak, thereby safeguarding the independence of the terminal.
Website: www.gateterminal.com

Profile N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie (Gasunie)
Gasunie is a gas infrastructure and gas transmission company with a prominent position in Europe. The total length of its pipeline network in the Netherlands and Germany comes to more than 15,000 kilometers and, with an annual throughput of almost 125 billion cubic meters, it ranks as one of the most extensive high pressure networks in Europe. Gasunie operates and develops the Dutch national gas transmission network and offers transmission services. Since 1 July 2008 Gasunie also owns the network of the former gas transport division of BEB and EMFG in Germany, which is now functioning under the name Gasunie Deutschland. Gasunie also offers other services within the scope of gas infrastructure. Gasunie carries out all these activities in a safe, efficient, profitable and sustainable manner. In doing so it also serves the public interest.

For more information:
N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie
Corporate Communication
Hansch van der Velden
Telephone : +31 (0)50 – 521 21 60
E-mail : press@gasunie.nl
Website : www.gasunie.nl

Profile Vopak
Royal Vopak is the world’s largest independent tank terminal operator specialising in the storage and handling of liquid and gaseous chemical and oil products. On request, Vopak can provide complementary logistics services for customers at its terminals. Vopak operates 78 terminals with a storage capacity of more than 26 million cubic meters in 31 countries. The terminals are strategically located for users and the major shipping routes. The majority of its customers are companies operating in the chemical and oil industries, for which Vopak stores a large variety of products destined for a wide range of industries.

For more information:
Koninklijke Vopak N.V. (Royal Vopak)
Corporate Communication & Investor Relations
Rolf Brouwer
Telephone : +31 (0)10 400 2777
E-mail : corporate.communication@vopak.com
Website : www.vopak.com