Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 17 April 2007
- Gate terminal B.V. and Port of Rotterdam agree on long term lease of 23 ha.
- Shell Energy Europe B.V. signed a Heads of Agreement with Gate terminal B.V.
- The European Commission agrees to the exemption granted by the Dutch government
Gate terminal B.V., a joint venture between N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie and Koninklijke Vopak N.V., develops a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import and regasification terminal on the Maasvlakte near Rotterdam. The Gate terminal project has reached a number of important milestones.
The boards of Gate terminal B.V. and Port of Rotterdam have agreed to a long term lease of 50 years for 23 hectares on the Maasvlakte, which is expected to be formally approved shortly by shareholders of the Port of Rotterdam. The Port of Rotterdam will develop this area to accommodate the specific layout for the LNG terminal.
Shell Energy Europe B.V. and Gate terminal B.V. have signed a Heads of Agreement for capacity rights for a maximum of 4 billion cubic meters of annual throughput in the Gate LNG regasification terminal in Rotterdam. The agreement would provide Shell capacity rights at a later stage of the Gate terminal project.
The European Commission agrees to the decision by the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs to grant Gate terminal an exemption from the regulatory regime as laid down in the Dutch Gas Act.
With above milestones achieved, the project is moving ahead according to plan and, if all other milestones will be reached as well, a final investment decision can be taken around mid 2007. The Gate terminal could then become operational earliest mid 2010.
Note to the editor:
Profile Shell
Shell Energy Europe B.V. is the European arm of Shell's Gas & Power business. With a staff of 450 spread over 12 countries, Shell Energy Europe (SEE) focuses on managing supplies and sales of gas to a large range of customers across Europe. SEE can draw on an unequalled diversity of gas supplies from Shell's gas production activities across the globe as well from third parties. The supply portfolio includes pipeline gas and LNG from Shell's worldwide operations as the global leader in LNG. 2
Profile Port of Rotterdam
Port of Rotterdam manages the almost 10,500 hectares covered by the Rotterdam port and industrial zone. It has three core activities:
- the development, construction, management and operation of the port and industrial zone
- the effective, safe and efficient management of shipping traffic
- the promotion of business
With a throughput of 375 million tons Rotterdam is the biggest port of Europe.
Profile N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie
N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie is one of the largest gas infrastructure companies in Europe. Its main tasks include operational management, maintenance and, where required expansion of the national gas transport grid. Safety and secure transport are leading principles. Gasunie actively contributes to the improvement of the functioning of the market for natural gas. In 2006 the throughput of gas was almost 100 bcm.
Profile Vopak
Royal Vopak (Vopak) is the world’s largest independent tank terminal operator specialising in the storage and handling of liquid and gaseous chemical and oil products. On request, Vopak can provide complementary logistic services for customers at its terminals. Vopak operates 75 terminals with a storage capacity of more than 21 million cbm in 30 countries. The terminals are strategically located for users and the major shipping routes. The majority of its customers are companies operating in the chemical and oil industries, for which Vopak stores a large variety of products destined for a wide range of industries.