A 12 billion m3/year plant, an 800 million euro order for Gate terminal completed on three years.

The consortium formed by Techint E&C and SENER has completed construction of a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) regasification plant for Gate terminal, the first of its kind in the Netherlands. The plant, located in Maasvlakte near Rotterdam, was officially opened today at a ceremony attended by 700 people, including members of the business community, operators, local workers and the media. Guests also included Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
Gate terminal is one of the biggest LNG terminals in Europe. It has an initial throughput capacity of 12 billion m3/year (billion cubic metres) and three 180,000-m3 storage tanks. The terminal has two jetties able to unload simultaneously two boats of the Q-Max type (the world biggest LNG boats). The high-scale Gate terminal is in fact able to fulfill the needs of Natural Gas of the whole population in Holland and part of Europe.

The total project cost is estimated at EUR 800 million and the construction has been completed in three years, from the start in 2008 to the Ready for Operation and Taking Over certificate achieved in September 1st, 2011. That day the construction joint venture, composed of four companies, among them SENER and Techint E&C as TS LNG joint venture, delivered the plant to the client, as planned since 2007, complying successfully with the EPC contract.

Jorge Unda, Managing Director of SENER Ingeniería y Sistemas, declared: “In GATE Terminal SENER and Techint have been working as a well-matched team integrated in the TS LNG consortium. This company has achieved a great performance in managing the engineering, procurement, construction and start-up of the plant. Without a doubt, TS LNG participation in this key European plant reflects its position as a company specializing in the natural gas sector”.

In this plant, SENER has taken part in the project management, the procurement and the construction works. Also, SENER has been responsible for managing the plant’s implementation, the commissioning and the start-up, as well as for engineering activities. Since this project began, special attention has been paid to safety, protecting the environment, operational availability and versatility. It is worth mentioning that this construction phase has been completed with one of the highest levels of safety ever recorded for works implemented in Rotterdam’s Europort, boasting more than 2,500,000 work hours without accidents, currently at Low Level A.

The excellent mix of people, know-how and technologies has made up a plant whose capacity is above average.