The opening ceremony for the Eemshaven terminal was held one year ago and was attended by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Dutch Minister for Climate and Energy Policy Rob Jetten, and other representatives of the Czech and Dutch governments.
“Energy security is one of my government’s priorities and one of the six key strategic areas for the Restart Czech Republic project. Our rapid response enabling the timely securing of capacity at the Eemshaven terminal during the energy crisis was crucial for ensuring that we would have sufficient gas both for last year’s winter and for the coming years. The terminal is operating exactly as we wished, and contributing to gas supplies for our country and the whole region. It is also important that no gas arriving at Eemshaven comes from Russia, a condition directly enshrined in the contracts,” said Prime Minister Petr Fiala.
“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. I am pleased that the terminal did and continues to make an important contribution to the security of the gas supply, not only for the Netherlands, but also for the Czech and European gas markets,” 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 of gas.
“We began negotiations to secure a share in this terminal immediately after preparations for its construction began. I am happy that this decision has been shown to be the right one as it has significantly contributed to our being able to do without gas supplies from Russia. Imports of gas from Norway and precisely from LNG terminals like Eemshaven remain sufficient for our needs. Czech gas storage facilities are currently 97 percent full, and we are thus well prepared for the coming heating season,” explained Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela.
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. CEZ anticipates 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. 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,” says CEZ CEO Daniel Beneš.
The terminal, with an annual capacity of eight billion cubic metres of gas, is located at the port of Eemshaven in the province of Groningen and comprises two vessels, the Golar Igloo and the Eemshaven LNG, providing LNG storage and gasification. Liquefied natural gas is brought to the terminal on specially modified tankers, then heated at the terminal to convert it back to its gaseous form to be injected into the gas pipeline system.
The terminal was put into operation last September, and was followed by more LNG terminals in Brunsbüttel, Lubmin and Wilhelmshaven in Germany. CEZ has purchased capacity at the Dutch terminal for five years until September 2027.
