One year after the opening ceremony for the Eemshaven terminal, the very first terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) put into operation in Europe after the start of the war in Ukraine, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said to be satisfied with the work done so far: “The terminal is operating exactly as we wished and contributing to gas supplies for our country and the whole region.”
“Thanks to the action-oriented collaboration between Gasunie and various Dutch and Czech partners, the LNG terminal in Eemshaven has become operational in record time,” stated the Dutch Minister for Climate and Energy Policy Rob Jetten.
Twenty-one ships carrying gas destined for the Czech Republic have already arrived at the terminal since last September, bringing the equivalent of two billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas.
“We began negotiations to secure a share in this terminal immediately after preparations for its construction began,” commented the Czech Minister of Industry and Trade, Jozef Síkela. “[…] Imports of gas from Norway and precisely from LNG terminals like Eemshaven remain sufficient for our needs. Czech gas storage facilities are currently 97 per cent full, and we are thus well prepared for the coming heating season.”
During this year’s summer and autumn, the terminal focused on preparations for the next heating season and on ensuring the security of supplies. This includes, for example, the connection of alternative heat sources for heating the LNG in the winter, with new gas boilers to be installed as a backup for supplies from the nearby heating plant. Czech energy group CEZ is anticipating the delivery of another almost billion cubic metres of gas into the network by the end of this year.
“The majority of the ships sail from the United States, from terminals in Louisiana and in Texas,” explained CEZ CEO Daniel Beneš. “We are also gradually expanding our supplier list and so we have also received ships from South America and Africa. We are anticipating the arrival of another nine ships by the end of the year.
