Fluxys Belgium, the operator of the Zeebrugge LNG terminal, on Wednesday said its net profit rose in the first six months of 2017 as the small-scale LNG business keeps rising.
The company’s profit for the six months was at €22.9 million ($27.2 million), up from €19.7 million during the first half of the year 2016, Fluxys Belgium’s report shows.
The Fluxys Belgium group realized a turnover of €250.7 million in the first half of 2017, up 5.4 percent on the same period in 2016, when turnover was €237.8 million. This increase is mainly due to the contracts for capacity sales between Dunkirk and Zeebrugge, which started once the Dunkirk LNG terminal went into operation.
The company’s investment for the period reached €36 million, with the total investment budget for the year 2017 at €103 million.
These investments pertained mainly to LNG infrastructure projects at the Zeebrugge terminal, specifically the construction of a fifth LNG storage tank and additional facilities and finalizing expenditure for the second jetty, Fluxys Belgium said.
The number of loading operations involving small LNG vessels increased slightly. A new element consisted of loading operations for the bunker vessel Engie Zeebrugge in which parent company Fluxys is a partner and whose home port is Zeebrugge.
The number of LNG tanker-truck loading operations continued on the same level, despite the launch of similar services at other terminals in North-Western Europe. With a view to making sure it can keep responding to demand in future, a second loading station will be built at the terminal in 2018.
The company noted that in the first few months of 2017 two LNG-powered ships were commissioned in Zeebrugge that are supplied from the LNG terminal with the bunkering vessel.
In road transport, the number of registered natural gas-powered vehicles in the first half rose from 4,500 to 7,100 and the number of filling stations will, according to the current schedule, reach the 100-mark by the end of this year.
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