Eemshaven LNG terminal handled 92 ships for Czechia, bringing 14 months’ worth of gas

The liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Eemshaven, the Netherlands, which has been operating since September 2022, has handled a total of 92 ships carrying gas destined for Czechia in its four years of operation. The ships delivered a total of 8.2 billion cubic metres of gas, equivalent to around 14 months of gas consumption in the country and more than four years’ consumption by all Czech households. Imports have continued at the same pace as last year, despite the crisis in the Middle East. The Czech News Agency (ČTK) was informed of this by energy company ČEZ. According to the company, the deliveries contained no Russian gas, with most of the shipments coming from the United States.

Eemshaven was the first LNG terminal to open in Europe since the start of the war in Ukraine, with the first ship arriving in September 2022. The facility can process eight billion cubic metres of gas a year, of which up to three billion can be sent to Czechia. In addition to ČEZ, other well-known energy companies have booked capacity at the terminal: British-Dutch Shell and France’s Engie.

So far this year alone, 20 ships ordered by ČEZ have arrived at the Dutch terminal, carrying a total of 1.8 billion cubic metres of gas.

"LNG deliveries through the Eemshaven facility helped us ensure sufficient gas supplies for Czech households and industry even during the energy crisis. The current situation also confirms how important our decision to invest in capacity at the floating terminal was. The war in the Middle East has significantly disrupted global gas trade, but LNG for ČEZ continues to flow to Eemshaven without interruption. That is because we transport most of the gas by tanker directly from fields in the United States," said ČEZ CEO Daniel Beneš.

According to the company, its involvement in the terminal’s operation also helped with planning and negotiating supplies. "We actively negotiate with partners on the global market, which has proved very worthwhile this year, and we bought LNG in good time, even in today’s tight market. We are also continually expanding our expertise in this area. For example, last year we delivered a ship to the terminal for the very first time, taking care of its entire voyage—from negotiations with the LNG supplier in the US and loading the ship to the voyage itself and its return," said ČEZ LNG manager David Viduna.

ČEZ has leased capacity until September next year, but this year the government tasked the company with negotiating an extension of the lease. The terminal operator has not yet completed talks with interested parties. In addition to Eemshaven, ČEZ plans to use the onshore terminal in Stade, Germany, in the future, and it also has a contract with Algerian state-owned company Sonatrach.