Dutch gas company Gasunie on Thursday said it had contracted 7 billion cubic metres (bcm) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year to be delivered to its new terminal in the north of the Netherlands.

Czech energy company CEZ a.s. and Shell Western LNG have jointly signed up to supply LNG to the terminal, which has a capacity of 8 bcm and which Gasunie decided to install earlier this year to help limit the country’s dependence on Russian gas.

Czech Industry Minister Jozef Sikela welcomed the deal.

“The share of the LNG terminal capacity will allow for cutting (the Czech Republic’s) dependence on gas from Russia by up to one third and it will significantly strengthen us in the energy war with (Russia’s President Vladimir) Putin,” Sikela said on his Twitter account.

Czech annual consumption, around 9 billion cubic metres (bcm), has been supplied almost 100% by Russian gas so far.

A spokesperson for the Czech Industry Ministry said the source of the gas for the terminal is being negotiated.

Gasunie said it expected to contract the remaining 1 bcm for the terminal in the coming months.

The new terminal consists of two floating storage and regasification units, which are set to arrive in Eemshaven in the north of the Netherlands by the end of August.

The terminal is expected to remain operational for five years and will double the total amount of LNG imported by the Netherlands, which also has a large LNG facility in the port of Rotterdam.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Bart Meijer; editing by Jason Neely and David Evans)