ENTSOG South-North Corridor GRIP 2017 - Main Report

8.1 Investments in Belgium

and Luxembourg (Northern Area of the Region)

8.1.1 BELGIUM

8.1.1.1 Market and Network Overview

Natural gas will remain a core component of the energy mix in tomorrow’s low-carbon economy. As a natural gas infrastructure company, Fluxys aims to build bridges between markets so that suppliers can transport natural gas flexibly to their custom- ers or between European gas trading places. Fluxys Belgium is the independent operator of both the natural gas transmission grid and storage infrastructure in Belgium. The company also operates the Zeebrugge LNG terminal. Fluxys Belgium is active in the transmission, storage and LNG businesses and intends to play a pioneering role in developing the gas infrastructure required to diversify Europe’s natural gas supply sources and in developing the solutions needed to connect and integrate European gas markets. The Belgian natural gas grid is one of the best interconnected infrastructures in Northwestern Europe. The 18 interconnection points on the Belgian grid are opening the network to natural gas flows from the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, Russia and all LNG producing countries. The Belgian grid also serves as the crossroads for transmission flows of natural gas to the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, France, the United Kingdom and Southern Europe (Figure 8.1).

NORWEGIAN GAS FIELDS

UNITED KINGDOM

THE NETHERLANDS

GERMANY

LUXEMBOURG

LNG SOURCES

FRANCE

Figure 8.1: Fluxys Belgium network in NW Europe (Source: Fluxys)

South-North Corridor GRIP 2017 |

97