Operational information

Thank you for your interest in the send-out data from the Grain LNG terminal on the Isle of Grain in Kent. Please use the links below to access the data you need:

Instantaneous Flow Data  : please select the 'Instantaneous Flows into NTS' gas market data tools

End of Day Send Out Data.

Stock Level Data : please scroll down to 'Supplementary Reports' sections and select the latest report under 'Daily Storage and LNG Operator Information'.  Please note this will open in an excel spreadsheet.

Please note that following the commissioning of the new National Grid Gas receiving facilities at the facility,  the terminal can now flow gas into the National Transmission System (NTS) via two pipeline feeders, this is in addition to its existing connection into the Local Distribution Zone operated by Scotia Gas Network. 
 
The information provided on the National Grid Gas website provides instantaneous flows from each of the two NTS feeders (Isle of Grain NTS1 and Isle of Grain NTS2) as well as a total figure which is the sum of the two NTS feeders plus the flow of gas into the LDZ (entitled Isle of Grain Terminal in the table entitled Terminal Totals).
 
It is also important to note that following the successful commissioning of the expansion phase at Grain LNG the plant now operates as one terminal and as such gas flows in specific feeders are not attributable to specific customers. The terminal has the flexibility to flow any customer's gas to any feeder at any given time.”

If you have any questions with regard to this send out data please contact Commercial operations on 01926 656556.

Introduction

Before an LNG tanker can berth and unload at the terminal, the LNG tanker must be approved (vetted) by Grain LNG for the purposes of satisfying Grain LNG as to the competence of the Tanker Operator, Master, officers and crew, and the compliance of the LNG tanker and the Tanker Operator with the standards required by Grain LNG for the safe, efficient and reliable operation of the Terminal and of LNG tankers at the Terminal.

For capacity holders (whether primary or secondary) with a current Services Agreement in place with Grain LNG, LNG tankers can be vetted and approved in accordance with the provisions of that Services Agreement, and such capacity holders should continue to apply for approval of LNG tankers in the normal way under their current Services Agreement. When the ship's approval period expires, they will require re-approval but will not normally be required to go through the full vetting process.

Grain LNG recognises that other parties may be interested in using the terminal in the future, possibly at short notice (e.g. through “use-it-or-lose-it” (UIOLI) arrangements or as a secondary capacity holder), and may wish to have one or more LNG tankers vetted prior to entering into a Services Agreement with Grain LNG. To this end, the Grain LNG Ship Vetting and Approval policy (available for download below) as defined in Annex M of the Terminal Operating Procedures (TOPS) was developed to cover all the requirements for ship vetting in Grain LNG. A list of all ships currently vetted by Grain is also available for download below. This list includes ships that have been vetted but their validation dates have expired.

Withdrawal of approval

It should be noted that approval of an LNG tanker to use the berth can be withdrawn by Grain LNG at any time. The party who requested the vetting of the LNG tanker will be notified of the withdrawal of approval and the reasons for such withdrawal of approval.

Application process

Applicants must first contact Grain LNG’s Commercial department to request a ship vetting (see Contacts page for details). Grain LNG will then provide compatibility templates and mooring information for the berths at Grain LNG.

Costs

To obtain an estimate of the costs of vetting an LNG tanker, please contact Grain LNG’s Commercial department (see Contacts page for details). As an indicative figure only, our inspectors are charged out at approximately £600 per day plus expenses, and (again, as an indication only) total inspection costs can range from £2,200 to £4,000 depending upon the location of the LNG tanker.

Applicants are charged the actual costs incurred by Grain LNG in inspecting and vetting the relevant LNG tanker. Grain LNG will advise the applicant of the actual costs incurred and will send an invoice to cover.

Resources

• Grain LNG Shippers are required to release berthing slots they are not intending to use, and Grain LNG may further from time to time identify unused capacity sufficient to offer additional berthing slots.  These slots will be advertised on this Bulletin Board and Registered Users are invited to submit bids in accordance with the auction process outlined in the Third Party Access Guide.

Bids should be submitted by completing a Short Term Access Confirmation Notice which is contained in Schedule 6 of the Short Term Access Framework Agreement (available to Registered Users).  Completed forms should be emailed to [email protected].  Upon completion of an auction, Grain LNG will select the winning bid, notify the successful party and sign the relevant Confirmation Notice, thereby completing the execution process.

Please note that whilst the following berthing slots are available for potential customers to enquire about, Grain LNG will need to consider storage availability before accepting any bid and will assess each bid on a case by case basis.

Latest Bulletin Board

Please see below the currently available slots:

• 2nd May 2024
• 3rd May 2024
• 4th May 2024

Physical characteristics

1. Jetty and Unloading Facilities

Two LNG unloading jetties, one capable of unloading LNG tankers of 70,000 m3 to 217,000 m3 cargo capacity (QFlex) and the other capable of unloading LNG tankers from 125,000 m3 up to 266,000 m3 cargo capacity (QMax).

2. LNG Storage Tanks

Total storage capacity ~1,000,000m3.

3. Re-gasification Equipment

Submerged Combustion Vaporisers (SCVs) capable of regasifying 645 GWh/d (58 mcm/d or 2.1 bcf/d).

4. Blending Facilities

Propane Storage and Injection Facility

Two Liquid Nitrogen Plants (owned and operated by Air Products) with a total of four Air Separation Units and storage capacity for 5000 tonnes of liquid nitrogen.

5.  Truck Loading Facilities

2 loading bays

36 slots a day

Maximum loading of 80m^3/h

Service description

The Grain LNG terminal provides services consisting of:

• receiving LNG ships up to the size of QMax vessels and unloading them
• temporarily storing LNG in cryogenic tanks with a site capacity of approximately 1,000,000 m3
• re-gasifying and processing LNG (including blending and ballasting where necessary to meet network entry requirements)
• delivering gas into the national transmission and local distribution systems in accordance with customer nominations
• ship cool down
• ship reloading
• truck loading
• truck cool down

LNG Quality

Unless otherwise agreed, LNG that is unloaded at the Grain LNG terminal must comply with the gas entry specifications outlined in the General Terms and Conditions (GTCs), which can be obtained by completing the Confidentiality Agreement.

Grain LNG has the capability to blend various LNG specifications to comply with the UK gas entry specification. Please contact Grain LNG if your cargo is not within the specifications outlined in the GTCs.

Transmission System Operator (TSO) information

Each capacity holder is required to make its own arrangements with the TSO for entry capacity onto the National Transmission System.

For information on network entry arrangements, please visit the National Grid Website.

Grain LNG is also connected to the Distribution Network operated by Southern Gas Networks. Applicants and capacity holders do not need to contact SGN in order to utilise capacity at Grain LNG terminal.

Primary market

All primary capacity at the terminal has been sold through open season processes and is fully contracted.

• 3.3 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), of capacity has been contracted under Phase 1 on a long term basis from July 2005
• 6.5 mtpa of capacity has been contracted under Phase 2 on a long term basis from December 2008
• 5 mtpa of capacity has been contracted under Phase 3 on a long term basis from December 2010

Together these equate to ca. 645 GWh/d regasification capacity, 1,000,000m3 of LNG storage capacity and over 200 berthing slots per annum.

Secondary market

The regulatory arrangements for Grain shippers requires the primary capacity holders to facilitate secondary trading (berthing slots, storage and regas capacity) to Secondary Shippers.

For enquiries as to the availability of secondary capacity from the current primary capacity holders, please contact the primary capacity holders.

Use It Or Lose It arrangements

To the extent that primary capacity (or secondary capacity) is not being utilised, in accordance with the terminal’s exemption from Third Party Access requirements Grain LNG operates a ‘Use It Or Lose It’ (UIOLI) process at the terminal. Available quantities of UIOLI capacity are available via the secondary capacity page.

Contracts and Codes

The legal documents applicable to use of the Terminal are:

• General Terms and Conditions (GTCs): These are the current general terms and conditions on which GLNG provides the services at the Terminal.
• Specific Terms Agreement (STA). This sets out the specific and any special provisions applicable to a particular Shipper(s). Together with the GTCs, the STA will form the Service Agreement between GLNG and the Shipper(s).
• Terminal Operating Procedures (TOPs): The TOPs set out more detailed operating procedures applicable to the Terminal.
• Network Entry Provisions (NEPs): The NTS Network Entry Provisions set out the operating interfaces between the Terminal and NGG's National Transmission System (NTS). They contain a number of parameters and rules relevant to the Shipper(s) (and the corresponding user of the NTS).
  Please note: Applicants must contact National Grid as Transmission System Operator to arrange network entry capacity.
  The LDZ Network Entry Provisions set out the operating interfaces between the Terminal and Southern Gas Networks Limited's gas pipeline system (South East LDZ). They contain a number of parameters and rules relevant to the Shipper(s) (and the corresponding user of the South East LDZ).
• Cost Allocation Principles (CAPs): The Cost Allocation Principles set of the basis for the determination of costs which are recoverable by GLNG from capacity holders, including both Primary Shippers and users of short-term access arrangements, including the basis of allocation of such costs among all Shippers.
• Notices: A formal communication setting out information which Grain LNG is required or permitted to distribution to capacity holders under the terms of a Service Agreement

The following documents will be applicable from July 2025 for new Shippers:

• New Shipper General Terms and Conditions
• New Shipper Access Code

Regulation / Legislation

European Regulation EC 715/2009

In compliance with Regulation EC 715/2009, information about the stock level, aggregate flows and the available capacity at the Terminal is reported daily by National Grid and is available on our Storage Information page on the National Grid website.

For further information, please contact us.

Latest Planned, Unplanned Outages and Urgent Market Messages Regarding Capacity and Gas Flow Constraints at Grain LNG  

Publication according to Article 4(1) of REMIT

National Grid is bound by the public disclosure obligations, established by Article 4(1) of the EU Regulation on the wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency under regulation (EU) No 1227/2011, in respect of its Grain LNG facility.

Accordingly, National Grid will publish on this webpage inside information in respect of its Grain LNG importation facility where Gas Day flows are impacted by either planned or unplanned incidents

Please see below for information on planned maintenance activity for Grain LNG

Grain LNG Operator EIC code:  21X-GB-A-A0A0A-7

LNG Facility asset EIC code:  21W000000000099F

Affected Asset or Unit:  Grain LNG

Balancing Zone: 21YGB-UKGASGRIDW

Latest Planned, Unplanned  and Urgent Market Messages: 

Grain LNG Terminal are currently experiencing capacity and gas flow restrictions.

Historical Planned, Unplanned Outages and Urgent Market Messages

Disclaimer: National Grid takes every care and precaution to ensure that information published or referred to on this webpage is accurate when posted and regularly updated as required.  However, the information is published without any warranty of any kind, and National Grid accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever for any error, omission or inaccuracy contained or referred to in it or for any delay in its publication, or in respect or any use of or reliance on that information by any person for any purpose.  Furthermore, National Grid may change the information published at any time without notice.

Like all employers, Grain LNG has a duty to reduce workplace risk to the lowest reasonably practicable level. To this end, and following Government Guidance, Grain LNG has undertaken a risk assessment of it’s operations in both an office and “live-site” environment, and will work with all relevant parties to ensure that the controls are implemented and everybody’s health protected.

The Results of the Risk Assessment

The risk assessment identified a number of focus areas and requisite controls. A high level summary is produced below:

Workforce management:

• Vulnerable personnel have been identified and working-from-home facilitated to avoid potential exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace.
• Staff are encouraged to report potential COVID-19 infection and to self-isolate in accordance with Government guidelines.
• Potential or actual COVID-19 infection in the workforce is tracked and monitored.
• Team segregation has been employed to limit cross-infection, with a focus on operationally critical activities.

Social distancing at work:

• Measures are in place to promote social distancing.
• PE has been mandated and provided for operational tasks where social distancing cannot be maintained, including aspects of workplace travel.

Use of workplace and workstations:

• Personnel have been seated to optimise social distancing.
• Hot desks have been removed from service.
• Additional capacity has been created to accommodate the requirements of this risk assessment.

Use of meeting rooms or common areas:

• Remote working has been facilitated and promoted.
• Maximum capacity of rooms has been defined and publicised.

Cleaning the workplace:

• Cleaning regimes have been heightened, with a focus on high contact areas.
• Sanitisation products have been available across the work areas.

Inbound and outbound goods:

• Contact with delivery drivers is minimised.
• Hygiene practices are employed for handling incoming/outgoing goods.

Ship  movements:

• A declaration of health is required for personnel boarding  or disembarking from the vessel, in advance of vessel arrival.
• Social distancing is maintained across all unloading activities.

To ensure that visitors and contractor attendance at Grain LNG is controlled, authorisation is required before attendance at site. Once authorised, the Grain LNG contact will explain the requirements of the COVID-19 risk assessment to ensure the health of personnel is safeguarded.

If you have any questions about the Grain LNG response to COVID-19, please send these to [email protected], marked “COVID-19 query” in the title.