The Netherlands is on track to open its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in September, with the first delivery of super-cooled gas expected by July this year, according to the terminal operator, LSE reports.
Gas Access to Europe (GATE) is expected to need three LNG cargoes to commission the facility in the port of Rotterdam, to cool the storage tanks and test other systems.
'The Gate terminal is fully on track and expects to be ready for commercial operations in September 2011,' a spokesman for the facility, being built by Gasunie and Koninklijke Vopak, said.
He declined to say when the first cargo was expected to arrive at the terminal or where the gas would be sourced from.
Royal Dutch Shell, which owns 30 percent of a large new production facility in Qatar that started loading tankers last month, signed a deal in 2007 to supply a third of Gate's initial capacity of 12 billion cubic metres of gas a year.
Andy Brown, executive vice president of Shell Qatar, declined to comment on when gas would be shipped from the Gulf state to the Netherlands.
Denmark's Dong Energy, Austria's OMV, Dutch utility Essent and Germany's E.ON Ruhrgas have taken 5 percent stakes in GATE and signed long-term deals to take gas imported through it.
The many LNG import terminals built over the last few years have helped reduce Europe's dependence on oil-indexed pipeline gas from Russia and North Africa and enabled Qatar in particular to supply ever more European consumers with cheaper fuel.
Dutch oil and chemicals storage firm Vopak said last year it had scrapped plans to build a second LNG terminal with Essent and Gasunie in the northern port of Eemshaven.
Gas Access to Europe (GATE) is expected to need three LNG cargoes to commission the facility in the port of Rotterdam, to cool the storage tanks and test other systems.
'The Gate terminal is fully on track and expects to be ready for commercial operations in September 2011,' a spokesman for the facility, being built by Gasunie and Koninklijke Vopak, said.
He declined to say when the first cargo was expected to arrive at the terminal or where the gas would be sourced from.
Royal Dutch Shell, which owns 30 percent of a large new production facility in Qatar that started loading tankers last month, signed a deal in 2007 to supply a third of Gate's initial capacity of 12 billion cubic metres of gas a year.
Andy Brown, executive vice president of Shell Qatar, declined to comment on when gas would be shipped from the Gulf state to the Netherlands.
Denmark's Dong Energy, Austria's OMV, Dutch utility Essent and Germany's E.ON Ruhrgas have taken 5 percent stakes in GATE and signed long-term deals to take gas imported through it.
The many LNG import terminals built over the last few years have helped reduce Europe's dependence on oil-indexed pipeline gas from Russia and North Africa and enabled Qatar in particular to supply ever more European consumers with cheaper fuel.
Dutch oil and chemicals storage firm Vopak said last year it had scrapped plans to build a second LNG terminal with Essent and Gasunie in the northern port of Eemshaven.