Gasunie turnover rises due to unrest about gas transport in Europe after Russia invaded Ukraine.
The gas price has given Gasunie a boost. The turnover of the state-owned company increased by 25% in the first half to €897 million, compared to the same period last year. It expects more and more income from gas transport in the coming years.
The company, which transported 3% more gas in the first half of 2022 than a year earlier, is depreciating its stake in the Nord Stream gas pipeline, in which it has a 9% stake, by €268 million to €240 million, due to “an increased risk profile’ of the sole customer, the Russian state-owned company Gazprom. That would be on the point of no longer supplying gas to Europe from Thursday, although sources have contradicted each other about this recently.
Operating profit rose by 3% to €474 million, Gasunie reported. It is drastically expanding the capacity of the gas network, including in Eemshaven and in Germany, with a new complex to pump liquefied gas (LNG) into the existing network. Due to the war in Ukraine, changing gas flows in Europe, and more uncertainty, Gasunie could count on an increase in turnover.
The Gasunie Transport Services (GTS) and Gasunie Deutschland divisions benefited. The surplus income always flows back to the market, as it does now, says Gasunie in an explanation of the half-year figures.
Due to all the uncertainties and shortages on the market, much higher transport rates arose. The regulator allowed Gasunie to pass this on to customers.
For Gasunie, the phasing out of Russian gas imports means a reversal of international gas flows, according to director Han Fennema, who speaks of a ‘new era.’ “From now on, those gas flows will increasingly run from west to east and from south to north through Europe.”