French electric utility company EDF Group’s regasification terminal at Dunkirk in France has commenced its commercial operations to deliver liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The Dunkirk regasification terminal which will import, store and regasify LNG before delivering it to consumption places is the second largest in its category in mainland Europe. Besides, it happens to be the only such terminal in the continent which is directly connected to two consumption markets in Belgium and France.
With an annual regasification capacity of 13 billion m3 accounts, the Dunkirk regasification terminal covers over 20% of the natural gas consumption in France and Belgium.
EDF executive director Marc Benayoun, who is also in charge of the Gas Sector and Italy, said that the Dunkirk regasification terminal has created a new point of gas importation in France besides consolidating security of supply in the continent.
Benayoun added: “It also contributes to the development of the gas supply market, on which the Group already operates with its Italian subsidiary, Edison, and wishes to further strengthen its share.”
The regasification terminal, situated inside the enclosure of the Dunkirk harbour on a 56-hectare site, features a jetty that can take up to 150 LNG tankers annually. With five articulated arms mounted on it, the jetty can unload ships at maximum flow rate of 14,000 m3/h.
Additionally, the Dunkirk regasification terminal also has three 200,000 m3 capacity isothermal storage tanks and a regasification unit equipped with 10 heat exchangers. The nearby nuclear power facility in Gravelines through a 5km long underwater tunnel supplies tepid water to the regasification unit.
According to EDF, the regasification terminal’s location at the crossroads of the seaways between the North Sea and the Channel makes it ideal to serve the natural gas consumption markets across France and the north-western region of the continent.