Gasunie

N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie
Naamloze Vennootschap; state-owned company
Industry energy
Founded 1963
Headquarters Groningen, The Netherlands
Area served
Netherlands, Germany
Key people
Han Fennema (CEO)
Services natural gas transportation
Revenue Increase 1.506 million (2009)
Number of employees
1,448
Website gasunie.nl/en/

N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie (short form: Gasunie) is a Dutch natural gas infrastructure and transportation company operating in the Netherlands and Germany. Gasunie owns the Netherlands gas transmission network with a total length of over 12,000 kilometres (7,500 mi) and 3,100 kilometres (1,900 mi) long network in Germany.

History

Gasunie was founded in 1963 as a public-private partnership of Royal Dutch Shell (25%), ExxonMobil (25%) and the state of the Netherlands (50%) to sell and distribute natural gas from the then recently discovered gasfield in the province of Groningen.

In 2005 the company was divided into a gas trading company (now called GasTerra) and a gas transportation company which kept the name Gasunie. The latter owns and operates most of the Dutch gas transmission network as well as the former BEB pipeline network in Germany, and a major pipeline connecting The Netherlands with the United Kingdom called the BBL Pipeline. In 2005, the split of Gasunie took place through a buy out by the Dutch State of the shares held by Shell and ExxonMobil in the infrastructure part of Gasunie. Therefore, Gasunie is now 100% state owned. The Dutch Ministry of Finance represents the Government's shareholder interest. Ownership of GasTerra is divided the same way as Gasunie before 2005.

At the end of October 2010, Gasunie became a 25% shareholder in the Rotterdam-based company Rotterdamse Cintra Maatschappij B.V. Cintra is exploring the possibilities for developing services for the transport of CO2 from emitter to storage operator in Rotterdam.

Gasunie established Vertogas on 2 July 2009 for the purpose of issuing certificates which guarantee the origin and volume produced of green gas.

In January 2011 Gasunie Zuidwending became operational. This is a new underground storage facility in Zuidwending, the north of the Netherlands.

In 2007, Gasunie bought the BEB's transportation unit BEB Erdgas und Erdoel GmbH, a German natural gas pipeline network operator, from Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil.[1][2]

Operations

Gasunie is a shareholder of ICE Endex, a European gas spot and derivatives exchange.

Gasunie owns 60% of the BBL Pipeline between the Netherlands and England. It also has 9% of shares in Nord Stream AG, the project company for the Nord Stream pipeline.[3] Gasunie has agreed to have a 20% stake in NEL pipeline which will connect Nord Stream with the German gas system.[4]

Gasunie owns 42.5% of Gate Terminal, the first LNG import terminal in the Netherlands, on the Maasvlakte. Following successful cooperation with GTS, Gate was brought into operation on the planned date of 1 September 2011.

See also

References

  1. "Duo sell BEB to Gasunie". Upstream Online. NHST Media Group. 2007-11-23. (subscription required). Retrieved 2007-11-24.
  2. "Shell und Exxon stoßen deutsche Gasspeicher ab" [Shell and Exxon repel German gas storage]. Financial Times Deutschland (in German). 2010-06-08. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  3. "Gazprom and Gasunie sign agreement on cooperation within Nord Stream and BBL projects" (Press release). Gazprom. 2007-11-06. Archived from the original on 2008-03-04. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  4. "Gasunie takes NEL berth". Upstream Online. NHST Media Group. 2010-06-11. (subscription required). Retrieved 2010-06-12.
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