Liquefied natural gas (LNG) throughput volumes at the Dutch Gate terminal have gone up in the first six months of the year as prices boosted imports into Europe.
The facility located in the Dutch port of Rotterdam recorded a throughput of 3.8 million tonnes in the first half of 2018, 93.9 percent above the 1.96 million tonnes in the corresponding period last year.
Price effects led to an increase in imports of gas from the United States and the Atlantic Basin, the port said in its throughput report.
The price difference between Asia and Europe is very small. Given the transport costs, exports of LNG to Asia are therefore less appealing than exports to Europe, particularly for market players in the Atlantic basin, the port said.
Gate terminal, owned by Gasunie and Vopak, is one of Europe’s largest LNG terminals. It consists of three 180,000-cbm storage tanks and has an annual regasification capacity of 12 Bcm – equal to around 180 cargoes per year.