Fluxys News

Energy ecosystems are evolving as the value of offshore power-to-X production is being realized.Flexible and delivered in long lengths on reels in a fast-track operation, thermoplastic composite pipeline can transfer up to nine times the amount of energy as a cable and can be used to store hydrogen, increasing the uptime of offshore wind farm generated power.That’s according to Netherlands based supplier Strohm, member of the Hydrogen Offshore Production for Europe (HOPE) project and the Dutch floating green hydrogen and ammonia OFFSET project.

A German government-backed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project at Mukran on Ruegen island in the Baltic Sea, near existing LNG reception facilities delivering into the mainland port of Lubmin, will be downsized.The quest for alternative imports intensified as the country sought to end reliance on Russian pipeline gas after Russia invaded Ukraine last year.Apart from gas, industry and the government are anticipating increased use of hydrogen, which when produced using renewable energy can help the transition to a lower carbon economy.Germany would need to import much of its hydrogen needs and the low density of the gas makes transportation over long distances complicated unless a carrier…

Germany's liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project at Stade said it would in the coming weeks begin testing market appetite for ammonia as a way to transport hydrogen, as the country's efforts to end reliance on Russian pipeline gas gather pace.The quest for alternatives has included focusing on hydrogen, which when produced using renewable energy can help the transition to a lower carbon economy.Germany, however, would need to import much of its hydrogen needs and the low density of the gas makes transportation over long distances complicated unless a carrier…

Construction of two ships for the Northern Lights carbon storage project in Norway started Thursday with a keel laying ceremony at the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co. (DSIC) yard in Dalian, China.Keel laying is a ceremonial recognition of the shipbuilding start in the construction dock at the shipyard. First steel for the ships was cut in November 2022."The keel laying is a major milestone in building the world’s first large-scale LCO2 transport ships. In 2024, the ships will be launched from the dock at the shipyard in China and will sail to the Northern Lights facilities in Norway…

Disruption at the Dunkirk liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal operated by Fluxys ended on Friday morning, a company spokesperson said, with shipping data showing a tanker carrying LNG from Russia has docked at the site.Operations at the terminal have been disrupted since March 6 by strike action against the French government's planned pension changes, which President Emmanuel Macron decided to push through without a vote Thursday, causing violent unrest overnight.Refinitiv data showed the ship Fedor Litke, carrying 160,000 billion cubic metres (bcm) of LNG from Yamal, Russia, had arrived at the terminal, the first since the strike action began."We have resumed our activities…

A strike at Fluxys' liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Dunkirk, northern France, has been extended to Monday, a union official told Reuters.The strike, part of action against the government's plan to increase the state pension age, was most recently due to end on Friday.France's three other LNG terminals, operated by Engie subsidiary Elengy, are expected to be blocked until March 21.(Reuters - Reporting by Forrest Crellin; Editing by Mark Potter)

A new liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering vessel was christened in the Port of Antwerp on March 23.The new vessel, named FlexFueler 002, was built by Dutch shipbuilder Kooiman Marine for owners gas infrastructure group Fluxys and LNG supplier Titan LNG, and it will ensure that ships can refuel with LNG anywhere in the port. It will operate from its permanent moorings at quay 526/528 and supply LNG throughout the port and the Western Scheldt.It is the third vessel to join Titan LNG’s expanding infrastructure in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) region…

The Netherlands-based marine fuel supplier Titan LNG launched a tender for a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering barge to service the Zeebrugge and English Channel regions. The first delivery is expected to be fulfilled in 2023.The 4,200 cubic meter capacity vessel, to be named Krios, was designed by HB Hunte Engineering. It will operate with multiple tanks to segregate streams of LNG and bio-LNG, the sustainable carbon neutral fuel produced from biological waste streams.

Novatek, the largest independent natural gas producer in Russia, started using a dedicated LNG transshipment tank at the Zeebrugge LNG terminal in Belgium.Novatek booked the tank’s capacity as part of a 20-year transshipment agreement between Yamal LNG’s unit Yamal Trade and Fluxys LNG.The dedicated LNG tank was built specifically for the transshipment needs of Yamal LNG with a capacity of 180,000 cubic meters, allowing the Project to transship up to 8 million tons of LNG per annum.“The LNG tank construction for Yamal LNG began in Zeebrugge in 2015 and its commissioning is a key milestone for the Project,” noted Lev Feodosyev, Novatek’s…

The climate target to reduce CO2 emissions in Belgium by 80% by 2050 compared to 2005 levels is a major challenge. Hydrogen has an important role to play in the mix of solutions to achieve results.That is why Deme, Engie, Exmar, Fluxys, Port of Antwerp, Port of Zeebrugge and WaterstofNet are joining forces. A joint study serves as a basis to coordinate delivery of concrete projects that shape the production, transport and storage of hydrogen.In a hydrogen economy, hydrogen is an important carrier for renewable energy to be used for electricity and heat production, for mobility, for fuel production and as a raw material for industrial production.Crucial in the viability of a hydrogen economy is the generation of sufficient renewable electricity for the production of hydrogen.

Qatar Petroleum subsidiary Qatar Terminal Limited (QTL) and Fluxys Belgium subsidiary Fluxys LNG signed a long-term LNG Services Agreement for the Zeebrugge LNG terminal.Under the agreement, QTL subscribes unloading slots at the facility from the expiry of the current long-term unloading contracts and up to 2044.The agreement was signed during a ceremony held in Brussels today by Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, and Pascal De Buck, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of Fluxys Belgium, in the presence of Her Excellency Marie-Christine Marghem, the Belgian Federal Minister of Energy…

Qatargas Operating Company Limited delivered the first cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) on a Q-Max vessel to Zeebrugge LNG Terminal in Belgium, marking the first discharge of a Q-Max LNG vessel at this terminal.The world's largest liquefied natural gas company announced in a media release that the cargo, which was loaded at the Ras Laffan terminal in Qatar on 22nd June 2019, arrived on board the Q-Max vessel, 'Al Dafna' on 22nd July 2019.The delivery also celebrates yet another multi-terminal delivery for Qatargas bringing the total number of multi-port deliveries undertaken by the Company in 2019 to eight deliveries, it said."This operation saw the first LNG parcel discharged in Zeebrugge and a second parcel at the South Hook LNG terminal in the United Kingdom…

Belgium-based natural gas transmission system operator Fluxys and Netherlands-based Titan LNG have joined forces to build the FlexFueler 002, a bunkering pontoon to make liquefied natural gas (LNG) more widely available as shipping fuel in the Antwerp port and region.Shipyard Kooiman, Zwijndrecht, The Netherlands, was contracted to build the FlexFueler 002. The pontoon, which is scheduled to be commissioned by mid-2020, will measure 76.4 x 11.45 m and is equipped with four vacuum insulated type C cargo tanks of 370 cu. m. each, to carry liquid LNG. The pontoon is not self propelled but for assistance in maneuvering a bow thruster is installed.

The consortium consisting Italy’s Snam, Spain’s Enagás and Belgium’s Fluxys has completed the acquisition of a 66 percent stake in Greek natural gas operator DESFA.According to a joint release, the purchase valued at €535 million ($613.9 million) has been completed with the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) and Hellenic Petroleum.The consortium, which won the tender for the privatisation of DESFA in April 2018, has closed the purchase through the new company Senfluga Energy Infrastructure Holdings. The consortium has obtained financing without recourse for more than 10 years, corresponding to approximately 65% of the value of the company.DESFA owns and operates…

Russian gas producer Novatek and Belgium's Fluxys joint venture Rostock LNG GmbH has signed a Land Lease Agreement with the Port of Rostock with a view to building and operating a mid-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage terminal in the port.The envisaged facility is to unlock LNG as a low emission alternative for heavy fuel oil, diesel and LPG in North and Central Europe and the Baltic Sea area.The joint venture (Novatek 49% - Fluxys 51%) intends to build and operate a terminal for receiving and unloading mid-scale LNG carriers, keeping LNG in storage and providing services to enable downstream distribution of LNG: Truck loading…

The climate target of getting Belgian CO2 emissions 35% lower by 2030 is a formidable challenge. In this context Antwerp Port Authority and gas infrastructure operator Fluxys believe strongly that carbon capture, storage and reuse by industry is an important weapon in the fight against climate change. They are therefore teaming up to take further practical steps that will help give shape to the energy transition. In the first phase, Antwerp Port Authority and Fluxys are studying the feasibility of solutions for capturing CO2 from industry in the port, transporting it by pipeline or ship and finally re-using or storing it. If the results of the feasibility study are positive then the aim is to jointly promote practical projects.

For the first time liquefied natural gas from Sabetta on the Siberian peninsula Yamal, was transhipped simultaneously in Zeebrugge from an ice class vessel (ARC7) into a conventional LNG carrier for further transport to Asia on May 01 Tuesday. The Russian ice class vessel ms Eduard Toll transfered simutaneously LNG into the ms Pskov via shore pipes. The operation takes place at quays 615 and 616 of the Fluxys terminal in the outer port. In 2015 the terminal of Fluxys was selected as transhipment hub for liquefied Siberian natural gas from the Yamal gasfield. In the port of Sabetta new installations have been built for LNG liquefaction activities.

Fluxys has taken over the concession in the port of Antwerp at quay 526-528 to make liquefied natural gas (LNG) available as an alternative fuel for ships and barges, in one of the Port Authority's key initiatives to make the port's activities more sustainable. Fluxys will add a permanent LNG bunkering facility by the end of next year to complement the existing mobile (truck-to-ship) bunkering service. For ships and heavy duty trucks LNG is the ideal alternative in the transition to lower greenhouse gas emissions and better air quality. Switching to LNG immediately cuts emissions of sulphur and particulate matter to negligible levels, while emissions of nitrogen oxides are dramatically reduced and carbon emissions significantly lowered.

The bunkering vessel ENGIE Zeebrugge performed in the port of Zeebrugge, Belgium, its first deliveries of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel to M/V Auto Eco and M/V Auto Energy, the two new gas-propelled pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs) of UECC. The LNG bunkering operations were conducted simultaneously while cargo operations for PCTCs were taking place. ENGIE Zeebrugge, which is the world’s first purpose-built LNG bunkering vessel, arrived in Zeebrugge at the beginning of April after delivery from Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co.

ENGIE, Fluxys, Mitsubishi Corporation, and NYK have taken delivery of the world’s first purpose built liquefied natural gas bunkering vessel (LBV) from Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co. Ltd., at the Yeongdo shipyard in Busan, Korea. She will run on LNG for her maiden voyage, after a few days of loading LNG delivered by trucks at the shipyard. Zeebrugge in Belgium will be the home port of the vessel, which has been named ENGIE Zeebrugge accordingly. From there, the 5,000 m3 LNG capacity LBV will supply LNG as a marine fuel to ships operating in Northern Europe. The two LNG-fueled pure car and truck carriers (PCTC) operated by United European Car Carriers will be its first customers.

ENGIE, Fluxys, Mitsubishi Corporation, and NYK have taken delivery of the world’s first purpose built liquefied natural gas bunkering vessel (LBV) from Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co. Ltd., at the Yeongdo shipyard in Busan, Korea. She will run on LNG for her maiden voyage, after a few days of loading LNG delivered by trucks at the shipyard. Zeebrugge in Belgium will be the home port of the vessel, which has been named ENGIE Zeebrugge accordingly. From there, the 5,000 m3 LNG capacity LBV will supply LNG as a marine fuel to ships operating in Northern Europe. The two LNG-fueled pure car and truck carriers (PCTC) operated by United European Car Carriers will be its first customers.

United European Car Carriers (UECC), daughter company of Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) and Wallenius Lines, signed a contract in 2014 for the construction of two dual fuel LNG Pure Car and Truck Carriers. The first vessel, de ms AUTO ECO, left the shipyard in China in September and arrived in November in Zeebrugge. On November  21, the ms AUTO ECO was christened at the terminal of International Car Operators (ICO) in the Zeebrugge inner port. The godmother of the ship is Claire Tillekaerts, CEO of Flanders Investment & Trade.

Low oil prices are denting the take-up of liquefied natural gas as a cleaner source of energy to power ships, and it will be a few more years yet before the fuel makes serious inroads into the marine bunker market. The global shipping sector is under pressure from governments to reduce harmful emissions from vessels, including sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon dioxide (C02), by using cleaner fuels such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) rather than traditional heavy fuel oil and diesel sources. The momentum has increased since December's global climate deal in Paris, but industry officials say it will take time for LNG to grow as a bunker fuel because the infrastructure needed requires heavy investment at a time when companies are slashing budgets.