The fourth LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) storage tank at the Gate LNG terminal in Maasvlakte, Rotterdam, has been completed and entered operation as of October 1, 2026, according to the operators. The expansion is reported to add 4 billion cubic metres (bcm) of annual regasification capacity, bringing the total to 20 bcm per year. Construction is said to have taken about three years.
The Gate terminal is reported to be an LNG import and regasification terminal in the Netherlands jointly operated by Gasunie and Vopak. The newly completed fourth tank is an addition to the existing storage and regasification facilities, intended to strengthen energy supply for the Netherlands and northwest Europe.
The new storage tank has a capacity of 180,000 cubic metres. The expansion adds 4 bcm to annual regasification capacity, for a total of 20 bcm per year. Construction took about three years. The investment cost has not been disclosed.
The Gate terminal handles LNG imports within the gas supply chain of the Netherlands and northwest Europe, so the expansion is linked to strengthening regional supply security.
Adding storage is generally regarded as a way to increase flexibility in vessel scheduling and inventory management alongside regasification capacity. The case also shows continental European LNG import infrastructure continuing to expand as a complement to pipeline gas. With the investment cost undisclosed, cost-per-capacity comparisons are difficult, but as an expansion within an existing site it is likely to have carried a lighter permitting and schedule burden than a new terminal. Further expansion discussions in the same area, such as additional jetty capacity, are also of industry interest.
The first point to watch is how fully actual regasification throughput uses the 20 bcm per year capacity after the new tank starts. Whether follow-on expansions such as an additional jetty become concrete is also worth following. LNG supply contract activity and terminal utilization trends in northwest Europe will also draw attention.