France*s LNG Regasification Capacity Expanded Thanks to the Fos Cavaou LNG Terminal

The Fos Cavaou LNG terminal has received the green light from the Bouches du Rhône Prefecture to operate at full capacity.

With its 8.25 billion cu.m/year natural gas capacity, Fos Cavaou increases France’s LNG regasification capacity to over 23 billion cu.m/year, thus strengthening the security of the country’s energy supply.

Commissioned April 1, 2010 at 20% of capacity, the new LNG terminal is owned by Société du Terminal Méthanier de Fos Cavaou (STMFC), owned in turn by Elengy (71.9%) and Total (28.1%).

Its operation and maintenance are provided by Elengy, a GDF SUEZ subsidiary that also owns and operates two other LNG terminals in France: Montoir-de-Bretagne (on the Atlantic coast) and Fos Tonkin (on the Mediterranean coast).

The Fos Cavaou terminal has the advantage of a very favorable maritime location at the entrance of the Fos Ouest harbor.

Directly accessible by sea on a round-the-clock basis, the terminal can accommodate tankers transporting up to 220,000 cu.m of LNG and, with three storage tanks, has an LNG storage capacity of 330,000 cu.m.

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Source: Elengy, September 2, 2010