WSJ: Fluxys Plans Russian Natural Gas Hub in Zeebrugge Port
Belgian natural gas infrastructure operator said it has signed an agreement with a Russian gas project that could use Fluxys' liquefied natural gas port in Zeebrugge as a transfer hub for Russian gas shipments to markets as far as Asia.
No terms of the deal were disclosed. The announcement is the latest in a string of recent deals involving European and Russian companies that have highlighted how close Europe's business relations with Russia have become since the end of the Cold War, even as political tension between the West and Russia are at a boiling point over Ukraine.
Fluxys said that it had agreed basic terms with Russia's Yamal LNG to develop Fluxys' Zeebrugge LNG port as a hub for liquefied natural gas from the Yamal peninsula. The agreement would make Fluxys a crucial shipping partner for Yamal LNG, which needs shipping routes for the Asian-Pacific region during winter. In cold months, traditional shipping lanes in the Arctic Ocean's Northern Sea Route close due to ice.