Dutch terminal handled 21 LNG cargoes for Czechia in a year, equal to 27 pct of last year's consumption

The terminal in Eemshaven in the Netherlands handled 21 ships for the Czech Republic during its first year of operation. They carried around two billion cubic metres of gas, equivalent to roughly 27 percent of last year's domestic consumption. ČTK was informed today by ČEZ, which leases capacity at the terminal. According to the company, Russian gas was completely excluded from supplies to the terminal, with most shipments arriving by ship from the US.

The Eemshaven terminal began operating a year ago, in mid-September. At the time, it was the first liquefied natural gas terminal to come online in Europe since the start of the war in Ukraine. The facility can process up to eight billion cubic metres of gas a year, of which up to three billion are earmarked for Czechia, or about a third of the country's annual consumption. The Czech Republic, or rather ČEZ, has leased capacity at the terminal until 2027. Multinational companies Shell and Engie also use the terminal's capacity.

„The terminal is operating as we expected and is helping supply gas to our country and the whole region. It is also important that none of the gas imported into Eemshaven comes from Russia, as stipulated directly in the contracts,“ Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) said.

He said that securing capacity at the terminal in time during the energy crisis was crucial to ensuring sufficient gas supplies not only for last winter but also for the coming years.

Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Síkela (STAN) stressed that Czech capacity at the terminal had made it possible to completely end dependence on Russian gas. „Imports from Norway or from LNG terminals such as the one in Eemshaven are still sufficient for us. Czech gas storage facilities are now 97 percent full, so we are well prepared for the coming heating season,“ Síkela noted.

According to ČEZ, this summer and autumn the terminal's operations are focused on preparations for the next heating season and ensuring security of supply. This includes connecting alternative heat sources to warm LNG in winter, with new gas boilers to be installed as a backup for supplies from a nearby heating plant. By the end of the year, ČEZ expects to deliver the equivalent of almost another one billion cubic metres of gas into the network.

„Most ships arrive from the United States, from terminals in Louisiana and Texas. We are gradually expanding our list of suppliers, however, and ships from South America and Africa have also arrived. We expect nine more ships by the end of the year,“ said ČEZ CEO Daniel Beneš.

The terminal consists of two vessels that enable LNG to be stored and regasified. Liquefied natural gas is brought to the terminal on specially adapted tankers and, after being heated and converted into gas at the terminal, is fed into the gas transmission pipeline network.

Following the launch of the Eemshaven terminal last September, other LNG terminals also came online in Brunsbüttel, Lubmin and Wilhelmshaven in Germany. ČEZ representatives have previously said they are exploring opportunities to secure additional potential capacity at one of the terminals being planned.