Affiliates of Qatar Petroleum and Belgian independent natural gas transport company Fluxys Belgium signed a long-term agreement for LNG unloading services at the Zeebrugge LNG Terminal.
Under the agreement, Qatar Terminal Limited (QTL) – a subsidiary of Qatar Petroleum – will subscribe to the full capacity at the terminal from the expiry of the existing long-term unloading contracts and up to 2044.
The transaction follows a competitive evaluation process as well as the approval of Belgian regulators.
QTL is already a party to an existing agreement under which approximately 50% of the terminal’s capacity is utilised for delivery of Qatari LNG into Belgium under long-term LNG agreements.
The agreement was signed during a ceremony held in Brussels this week by HE Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President/CEO of Qatar Petroleum, and Pascal De Buck, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Fluxys Belgium, in the presence of HE Marie Christine Marghem, the Belgian Federal Minister of Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development.
Speaking during the signing ceremony Al Kaabi said they are delighted to sign the landmark agreement to extend and expand their existing long-term partnership with Fluxys Belgium.
We believe (that) this arrangement will further support our customers in Belgium and Europe in general, by providing access to reliable LNG supplies from Qatar and allowing our customers to maximise the utilisation of such supplies.’
The minister also said that Qatar Petroleum has long invested in and anchored LNG receiving terminal capacity in Europe, a key gas market, as part of their supply destination portfolio diversification strategy.
We continue to be committed to supporting the EU’s energy policies and providing reliable energy supplies into Europe. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the concerned Belgian authorities for their support, and we thank Fluxys for their valuable partnership over the years. I am confident that the successful ‘Open Season’ process, this new capacity and the revised tariff arrangements will, in no doubt, enhance the position of Zeebrugge amongst the most commercially competitive terminals in Europe.’
The Zeebrugge LNG Terminal in Belgium was commissioned in 1987. It has since developed, together with the Zeebrugge area as a whole, into a central crossroads for North-West Europe’s gas network. Located at the point where a number of gas pipelines meet, the terminal plays a key role in Europe’s natural gas supplies.
The terminal is operated by Fluxys LNG, part of Belgian independent natural gas transport company Fluxys. The terminal currently has 380,000 cubic metres of LNG storage capacity spread over four tanks and an annual throughput capacity of nine billion cubic metres of natural gas. A fifth 180,000 cubic metres storage tank is currently under construction.
The signing ceremony was also attended by Qatar’s ambassador in Brussels, HE Abdul Rahman bin Mohammed Al Khulaifi, along with senior executives from Qatar Petroleum.
For updates and more information about Qatar Petroleum and its affiliates, visit qp.com.qa.