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Released January 09, 2017 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Commercial operations have started at the Dunkirk liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification terminal in northern France, the second-largest in mainland Europe.
Électricité de France SA (EPA:EDF) (Paris, France) said that the commissioning "draws a line under one of the largest industrial construction sites in France." Dunkirk is the only such terminal in Europe to be connected directly to two consumption markets: France and Belgium. It has an annual regasification capacity of 13 billion cubic metres (m3) of gas, accounting for more than 20% of French and Belgian natural gas consumption. Dunkirk lies at the crossroads of the seaways between the Channel and the North Sea, close to natural gas consumption markets in France and northewestern Europe. The LNG terminal is owned and operated by Dunkerque LNG, a company 65% owned by EDF, 25% by Fluxys Belgium (EBR:FLUX) and 10% by Total S.A. (NYSE:TOT) (Paris, France).
"I am delighted that commercial operations have started up at the Dunkirk regasification terminal, thus creating a new point of gas importation in France and strengthening security of supply in Europe," said Marc Benayoun, executive director of the EDF Group, in charge of the Gas Sector and Italy. "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."
Pascal De Buck, chief executive officer of Fluxys, added: "Direct connection of the Dunkirk LNG terminal to our Belgian network provides users with easy and flexible access to the natural gas consumption markets in northwestern Europe."
The terminal sits on a 56-hectare site and has a jetty large enough to enable the unloading and reloading of the largest LNG carriers (267,000 cubic meters) at a maximum flow rate of 14,000 cubic meters per hour for unloading and 4,000 cubic meters per hour for reloading. The site has three storage tanks, each capable of storing 190,000 cubic meters of LNG at -163°C, alongside 10 open rack vaporizers (ORV) or re-gasifiers to raise the temperature of the LNG and enable it to return to its natural gas state ready to be sent out into the supply network. A 5-kilometre tunnel sits between the discharge canal of the Gravelines nuclear power plant and the terminal to carry some of the heated cooling water discharged by the power plant for use in reheating the LNG in the ORVs.
Last summer, the Dunkirk LNG terminal was switched to safe mode by the emergency response team after the presence of LNG in the flare system, which led to a larger flame than usual and LNG projections at ground level.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
Électricité de France SA (EPA:EDF) (Paris, France) said that the commissioning "draws a line under one of the largest industrial construction sites in France." Dunkirk is the only such terminal in Europe to be connected directly to two consumption markets: France and Belgium. It has an annual regasification capacity of 13 billion cubic metres (m3) of gas, accounting for more than 20% of French and Belgian natural gas consumption. Dunkirk lies at the crossroads of the seaways between the Channel and the North Sea, close to natural gas consumption markets in France and northewestern Europe. The LNG terminal is owned and operated by Dunkerque LNG, a company 65% owned by EDF, 25% by Fluxys Belgium (EBR:FLUX) and 10% by Total S.A. (NYSE:TOT) (Paris, France).
"I am delighted that commercial operations have started up at the Dunkirk regasification terminal, thus creating a new point of gas importation in France and strengthening security of supply in Europe," said Marc Benayoun, executive director of the EDF Group, in charge of the Gas Sector and Italy. "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."
Pascal De Buck, chief executive officer of Fluxys, added: "Direct connection of the Dunkirk LNG terminal to our Belgian network provides users with easy and flexible access to the natural gas consumption markets in northwestern Europe."
The terminal sits on a 56-hectare site and has a jetty large enough to enable the unloading and reloading of the largest LNG carriers (267,000 cubic meters) at a maximum flow rate of 14,000 cubic meters per hour for unloading and 4,000 cubic meters per hour for reloading. The site has three storage tanks, each capable of storing 190,000 cubic meters of LNG at -163°C, alongside 10 open rack vaporizers (ORV) or re-gasifiers to raise the temperature of the LNG and enable it to return to its natural gas state ready to be sent out into the supply network. A 5-kilometre tunnel sits between the discharge canal of the Gravelines nuclear power plant and the terminal to carry some of the heated cooling water discharged by the power plant for use in reheating the LNG in the ORVs.
Last summer, the Dunkirk LNG terminal was switched to safe mode by the emergency response team after the presence of LNG in the flare system, which led to a larger flame than usual and LNG projections at ground level.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
