Belgium's LNG terminal sees deliveries fall 24% in 2013 to 2

Chemical News

Belgium's LNG terminal sees deliveries fall 24% in 2013 to 2.2 million mt   Mar 20,2014 Platts Belgium's 9 billion cubic meter/year Zeebrugge LNG terminal unloaded 37 carriers in 2013 for a total volume of 2.2 million mt, down by 24.1% compared with 2012, terminal operator Fluxys said in its annual results published Wednesday.

Most of the LNG came from Ras Laffan, Qatar, and seven of the 37 ships were the large Q-flex carriers, Fluxys said.

Low European gas demand has seen many shippers divert cargoes away from Europe towards higher priced markets.

"The high level of natural gas supply in Europe combined with high demand for natural gas in South America and Asia have resulted in heavy demand for loading services at the terminal over the past two years," Fluxys noted.

Some 21 LNG carriers were loaded at Zeebrugge last year for a volume of 1.1 million mt, down by 15.4% on the year.

A total of 819 LNG trucks were loaded with LNG at the terminal in 2013, compared with just 316 in 2012.

Most of the LNG was bound for France, Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Switzerland, the UK and Poland, where the market for LNG as a transport fuel is growing, the company said.

"2014 also promises to be a strong year [for truck loadings] ... with 1,847 loadings scheduled," Fluxys said.

   |      |