Chile LNG regasification investment targets new trades

EIG and Fluxys will acquire the stake in GNL Quintero S.A. (Quintero) terminal in Chile, from Enagas Chile SpA, opening up a lucrative future fuels supply chain back into Europe.

“With three LNG terminals in Europs, our ambition to invest outside Europe and to become the transporter of new energy carriers, Quintero is a perfect fit with our strategy for growth in view of the low carbon future”, said Pascal De Buck, managing director and CEO, Fluxys.

“Our partnership in Quintero brings Fluxys closer to hydrogen developments in Chile and supports the import of hydrogen in Belgium.”

Key acquisition

Operational since 2009, Quintero is the largest terminal for receiving and unloading LNG in Chile, as well as for its storage and regasification capacities. The terminal owns 75% of the country´s LNG regasification capacity and in 2021, 67% of the total natural gas imports arrived in Chile through this strategic asset. 

In addition, Chile has world-class solar and wind resources and a RES capacity equivalent to 4% of total global energy demand. The country is aiming to become one of the world’s three largest green hydrogen producers with plans to install 200 GW of renewable power by 2040 to produce green hydrogen.

Chile already has signed several agreements to promote the export of green hydrogen, among others with the Belgian ports of Antwerp/Zeebrugge, Germany, the Port of Rotterdam and South Korea.

The acquisition builds on EIG’s presence in the Chilean market, where the firm owns Cerro Dominador, a groundbreaking solar complex that combines a 100MW photovoltaic (PV) plant with a 110MW concentrated solar power (CSP) plant. The PV plant has been operational since 2017 and the CSP plant was successfully synchronised with Chile’s electricity grid in April 2021.

For Fluxys, the partnership is a forward-looking investment creating a foothold in another country in Latin America where the energy transition stands high on the government agenda. The Belgian Hydrogen Import Coalition, with Fluxys as a partner, is backing the feasibility of a green molecule supply chain from Chile to Europe and Belgium.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2022, subject to any required merger control and related regulatory approvals.