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Ship docked at night at Grain LNG in Kent - used for the National Grid story 'Helping to fuel the nation'

Grain LNG Unloads 500th Ship

12th March 2020 - Grain LNG

Grain LNG welcomed the LNG Merak, the 500th ship to the importation terminal on the 12th March.

Simon Culkin, Importation Terminal Manager, at National Grid Grain LNG said:

“We’re delighted to confirm that on Thursday 12 March, 2020, we welcomed the 500th ship at our liquefied natural gas (LNG) importation terminal on the Isle of Grain.  The ‘LNG Merak’ berthed today delivering cargo from Zeebrugge, and is the 22nd ship to arrive at Grain this year.

“Since commissioning our terminal in 2005, we have taken delivery of LNG from 13 countries, further strengthening the diversity and security of UK gas supplies.

“LNG imports into the UK increased by approx. 64% in 2019 versus 2018, contributing to a decrease in the wholelsale (NBP) gas price of approx 55%.

“LNG delivers much needed flexibility and energy reliability, enabling the integration of intermittent renewable energy and provides access to affordable energy.  We’re very proud that LNG, supported by our extensive infrastructure at Grain, will play a key role in enabling the UK to reach net zero carbon by 2050 by reducing carbon intensity across all segments of the energy system.”

Background

  • Grain LNG is the largest LNG importation terminal in Europe, with 1,000,000 m3 of storage and the capacity to process around 14.8 million tonnes of LNG annually, and deliver 25% of UK gas demand.  
  • Grain LNG is the only terminal in the UK able to process the full range of global LNG, due to extensive nitrogen facilities.
  • LNG imports have increased significantly over the past six months. Utilisation rates are up across all terminals in Europe – including Grain who on November 14th 2019 exported the highest ever amount of gas in a single day from any European terminal – 698GWh.
  • Gas currently makes up ~40% of the UK’s total energy mix (up from ~35% in 2015).  ~55% of total UK gas supply is imported, ~15% of which is LNG (source: Gov.uk).

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