Gas infrastructure company N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie (Gasunie) and liquid bulk storage provider Royal Vopak (Vopak) today announce that they have signed an agreement with Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) as launching customer for their LNG Break Bulk terminal, to be constructed at the Maasvlakte near Rotterdam. The purpose of this terminal is to make LNG available for distribution to marine bunkering and truck fuelling stations. In this way liquefied natural gas (LNG) can be used as a clean alternative transport fuel.

The agreement with Shell marks an important step in the development of the project. Gasunie and Vopak are planning to build this independent, open access LNG Break Bulk terminal for the small scale distribution of LNG over land and water. The new terminal is planned adjacent to Gate terminal and both terminals will be connected by pipeline. As import and regasification terminal for LNG, Gate terminal, a joined initiative of Gasunie and Vopak, receives large shipments LNG from all over the world. The new terminal will receive LNG by pipeline from Gate terminal and break down the LNG into smaller quantities for further distribution. As yet it consists of one jetty and two truck loading stations. The LNG Break Bulk terminal is expected to be operational at the end of 2014 and is subject to obtaining the relevant approvals.

The LNG Break Bulk terminal constitutes the start of a small scale LNG chain in the Netherlands and Northwest Europe. It is supported by the Dutch government and fits in the recently announced ‘Green Deal’ for the Wadden and river Rhine area, a public-private partnership aiming to introduce LNG as a clean transport fuel for road trucks and shipping.

Eelco Hoekstra, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Vopak: “We are pleased to welcome Shell as our launching customer for our joint LNG Break Bulk terminal near Rotterdam. This is a major step in facilitating LNG as an effective alternative for traditional transport fuels.”

Paul van Gelder, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Gasunie: “With Shell we have reached a milestone in this new project’s development. LNG as a transport fuel is a solution for the transport sector which will be confronted with stringent EU emission requirements as from 2015. We aim to facilitate the break bulk LNG services as independent, open access infrastructure providers.”

Profile Vopak

Vopak is the world's largest independent tank storage service provider, specialized in the storage and handling of liquid chemicals, gasses and oil products. The company operates 84 terminals with a combined storage capacity of more than 28 million cubic meters in 31 countries. The terminals are strategically located for users along 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.

Profile Gasunie

Gasunie is a European gas infrastructure company. Gasunie’s network ranks among the largest high pressure gas pipeline grids in Europe, consisting of over 15,000 kilometers of pipeline in the Netherlands and northern Germany, dozens of installations and approximately 1,300 gas receiving stations. The annual gas throughput totals approximately 127 billion cubic meters. Gasunie offers transport services via its subsidiaries Gas Transport Services B.V. (GTS) in the Netherlands and Gasunie Deutschland in Germany. The company also offers other services in the gas infrastructure field, including gas storage and LNG.