Qatargas delivers first LNG cargo on a Q-Max vessel to LNG terminal in Belgium

Qatargas Operating Company Limited (Qatargas) says it has delivered the first cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) on a Q-Max vessel to Zeebrugge LNG Terminal in Belgium, marking the first discharge of a Q-Max LNG vessel at this terminal. The cargo, which was loaded at the Ras Laffan terminal in Qatar on 22nd June 2019, arrived on board the Q-Max vessel, 'Al Dafna' on 22nd July 2019.

The delivery also celebrates yet another multi-terminal delivery for Qatargas bringing the total number of multi-port deliveries undertaken by the Company in 2019 to eight deliveries. This operation saw the first LNG parcel discharged in Zeebrugge and a second parcel at the South Hook LNG terminal in the United Kingdom.

Commenting on this, Khalid bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatargas Chief Executive Officer, said: “At Qatargas, we are very much focused on further developing the concept of multi-port deliveries of our LNG cargoes and offer it to our global portfolio of customers. This will provide our customers with flexibility and reliability to help them meet their demand for clean burning natural gas while enhancing flexibility of supply. As the World's Premier LNG Company, we are committed to meet and exceed the expectations of our customers."

Pascal De Buck, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of gas infrastructure group Fluxys, owner and operator of the Zeebrugge LNG terminal, said: “We are particularly pleased at Fluxys with this new milestone in our long-standing cooperation with Qatargas at the Zeebrugge LNG terminal. The Q-Max delivery demonstrates the versatility we offer our customers, with LNG carriers of all types and sizes able to dock at the facility, ample pipe gas take away capacity for delivery throughout Northwestern Europe and a range of options for downstream small-scale LNG distribution."

The established practice in the LNG industry is to deliver a single cargo of LNG to a single location. Qatargas' pioneering achievement was made possible by using the largest class o​f LNG vessel in the world, a Q-Max vessel, which has a cargo carrying capacity of 266,000 cubic metres. Its large capacity allows Q-Max to deliver two full conventional size cargoes to multiple destinations and customers in one voyage.