According to Fluxys, Fluxys LNG’s parent company with a 93.20% stake, the loan provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) will enable the company to optimize its resources for other infrastructure projects in its gas transport and storage activities.
Fluxys LNG owns and operates the Zeebrugge liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal. Following new capacity subscription agreements signed in 2004, the company decided to double the terminal’s capacity to nine billion cubic meters per year. The capacity enhancement requires an overall investment of E165 million and includes the construction of a fourth LNG storage tank, as well as additional regasification facilities.
Under the new agreements, the enhanced capacity of the terminal has been fully booked on a long-term basis and LNG deliveries started in April 2007. The construction works for the capacity increase are nearing completion, the company said.
Fluxys said that the investment will increase, secure and diversify gas supplies to the EU, as imported gas from Zeebrugge can easily be moved to the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France.
The financing fits in with the EIB’s key objectives to support the development of large infrastructure projects that contribute to the EU’s energy and climate change policy.
