Montoir LNG Terminal

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Montoir LNG Terminal (also known as Montoir-de-Bretagne LNG Terminal) is an operating LNG terminal in Loire-Atlantique, France. An expansion to the terminal's capacity is proposed.

Location

The map below shows the terminal, in Montoir-de-Bretagne Commune, Saint-Nazaire Arondissement, Loire-Atlantique Department, Pays de la Loire Region.

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Project Details

• Owner: Elengy
• Parent: Engie
• Location: Montoir-de-Bretagne Commune, Saint-Nazaire Arondissement, Loire-Atlantique Department, Pays de la Loire Region, France
• Coordinates: 47.30296, -2.14278 (exact)
• Capacity: 8 mtpa
• Status: Operating
• Type: Import
• Start Year: 1980

Note: mtpa = million tonnes per year; bcfd = billion cubic feet per day

Background

Montoir-de-Bretagne LNG Terminal is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification terminal in Loire-Atlantique, France. Construction began on the terminal in 1977, and it was commissioned in 1980. A third tank was added in 1983. It is owned by Engie.

According to Food and Water Europe's profile on gas use in France, "Between January 2012 and March 2019 (and for Dunkerque since it started operating in January 2017), the four existing LNG terminals were only used at an average of about 30% of their capacity. At the end of 2016 while the Dunkirk terminal was just about to be commissioned, Engie, its main operator, announced it would cut 1,150 jobs in the French LNG sector. Despite these more than sufficient infrastructures, especially in a context of important gas demand reduction, France receives significant support (notably via the List of Projects of Common Interest) to further develop its gas network and transmission capacity."

In December 2019, Elengy said the Montoir-de-Bretagne terminal was fully booked between 2023 and 2035, with only a little capacity available in 2021 and 2022. Elengy, a subsidiary of Engie, said it had offered around 3.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year of not yet subscribed capacity between July and November and it was all taken up. Elengy also stated that it would study options for offering capacity at the Fos Cavaou LNG Terminal near the southern city of Marseille beyond 2030, and at Montoir-de-Bretagne terminal beyond 2035.

In February 2020, Qatar Petroleum agreed a deal for supplying three million tons per year of LNG at the Montoir terminal for a term up to 2035.

In October 2020, the Montoir-de-Bretagne Terminal received its first LNG delivery by Q-Max, the world's largest methane tanker.

Transshipment of Russian LNG

In April 2022, a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) identified Elengy as the world's second top importer of Russian LNG in the first two months since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Four LNG shipments, valued at €400 million, were delivered to the Montoir LNG Terminal from the Yamal LNG Terminal in the period, according to CREA.

Elengy carried out its first Yamal LNG transshipment in January 2018. In March 2022, the Montoir terminal received a diverted Yamal LNG cargo after dock workers at the Grain LNG Terminal in the UK heeded calls from the Unison union not to accept the cargo due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Greenpeace France activists protested the arrival of the LNG tanker into the port of Montoir-de-Bretagne.

Expansion Project Details

• Owner: Elengy
• Parent: Engie
• Location: Montoir-de-Bretagne Commune, Saint-Nazaire Arondissement, Loire-Atlantique Department, Pays de la Loire Region, France
• Coordinates: 47.30296, -2.14278 (exact)
• Capacity: 2.5 bcm/y, 1.8 mtpa
• Status: Proposed
• Type: Import
• Cost: €500 million (US$570 million)
• FID Status: Pre-FID
• Start Year: 2023

Note: mtpa = million tonnes per year; bcfd = billion cubic feet per day

Expansion Project Background

According to a December 2019 article in Natural Gas Intel, Elengy was considering an expansion of capacity at its receiving terminals in France, including the Montoir LNG Terminal, which was already fully booked from 2023-2035, and the Fos Cavaou LNG Terminal. The proposed expansions were in response to a second wave of U.S. export facilities expected to come online in the years ahead.

As of December 2019, Gas Infrastructure Europe's LNG database listed a proposed expansion project at the Montoir terminal, which would have added 2.75 bcm/y of regasification capacity by 2022, along with a proposed increase of 190,000 m³ to the terminal's storage capacity. However, as of June 2022, the proposed expansion was no longer listed, so the project is presumed to be shelved.

As of October 2022, the project is listed in the ENTSOG Ten-Year Network Development Plan, and the project is considered proposed.

The 2023 GIIGNL report, released July 2023, reported that Work on possible capacity increases at Montoir LNG Terminals is ongoing.