DONG Energy and the Spanish company Iberdrola have signed the commercial terms
for Iberdrola to deliver LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas), corresponding to about 1
billion m3 of natural gas per year to DONG Energy from the end of 2011. The
ten-year agreement that will take effect in 2011 includes an option for a
five-year extension. Completion and signing of the final agreement is expected
by mid 2010.
The LNG will be delivered to Gate terminal in the port of Rotterdam. DONG
Energy is a co-owner of the terminal and also has part of the import capacity
at its disposal. From the terminal, the Dutch transmission system provides
access to the north-western European gas market.
“We are very pleased to have Iberdrola as our LNG partner. The first building
block was laid in 2007 when we invested in Gate terminal together with other
European energy companies. Following our entry into the LNG market, we have
been given many more opportunities for sourcing gas than those provided through
the European pipeline network”, says Kurt Bligaard Pedersen, Executive Vice
President at DONG Energy.
“The agreement with DONG Energy is for many reasons a milestone in the European
energy sector, in particular LNG, and underlines the importance of long-term
contracts in achieving security of supply,” said Angel Chiarri, Energy
Management Director at Iberdrola. “It also demonstrates Iberdrola's agility in
managing its liquefied natural gas portfolio.”
"I consider the signing of this contract a crucial step in the further
development of the Netherlands as a Northwest European Gas Hub. Given the
importance of LNG to the further development of the Gas hub, my government has
been doing all it can to support and facilitate initiatives for the
construction of LNG facilities. This contract makes clear how important the
investment of the Gate terminal is and will be for the future security of
supply of Northwest Europe", said the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, Mrs
Maria van der Hoeven.
DONG Energy aims to contribute to the security of supply in those markets,
where the company is present. This will be done by ensuring supplies from
different sources. The agreement with Iberdrola is an important step in these
efforts, in which DONG Energy's own gas production and gas supplies from
European partners as well as the future import of natural gas from Gazprom in
Russia are the other three important elements.
Owners and customers at the Gate Terminal
The state-owned, Dutch transmission company, Gasunie, and the world's largest
independent terminal operator, Vopak, each owns 40% of the terminal.
RWE-Essent, OMV-Econgas, E.ON Ruhrgas and DONG Energy each owns five per cent.
In addition to their ownership interest, the four latter companies have at
their disposal 12 billion m3 of the terminal import capacity per year.
The content of this announcement does not alter the previously announced
expectations for DONG Energy's financial result for 2010 or the announced
expected level of investments.
For additional information, please contact:
Media Relations
Ulrik Frøhlke
+45 9955 9560
Investor Relations
Morten Hultberg Buchgreitz
+45 9955 9750
What is LNG?
LNG is natural gas that is liquefied by being cooled to minus 161 degrees
Celsius. Liquefied gas takes up 600 times less space compared to gas in its
gaseous form. The LNG is transportable in special purpose-built tankers,
enabling transportation of gas over long distances. In the import terminal, LNG
is vaporised and pressurised before being led into the gas transmission system
for further distribution and sale.
Facts on Iberdrola
Iberdrola (www.iberdrola.com) is a quoted company with a global reach and an
experience forged over more than 100 years dedicated to energy development and
quality and reliability of supply. Following a period of rapid growth and
international expansion starting in 2001, it is today one of the largest
electricity companies in the world by market capitalization, with operations in
40 countries, a workforce of 32,500 and 28 million customers.
The Company's geographical footprint mainly comprises the Atlantic area:
Europe, the United States and Latin America. Iberdrola is the leader energy
group in Spain with a total installed capacity of nearly 44,000 MW. Its
pioneering focus on clean energy generation has led to it to become world
leader in wind power. Its Iberdrola Renovables subsidiary, which has listed on
the stock exchange since 2007, has an installed capacity of more than 10,700
MW.
Facts on DONG Energy:
DONG Energy is one of the leading energy groups in Northern Europe. We are
headquartered in Denmark. Our business is based on procuring, producing,
distributing and trading in energy and related products in Northern Europe. We
have approximately 6,000 employees and generated just under DKK 50 billion (EUR
6.6 billion) in revenue in 2009. For further information, see
www.dongenergy.com.