Natural gas: from source to consumer

Belgium: 100% importer of natural gas

As Belgium does not have any gas sources, it is completely dependent on imports from producing countries around the world. Natural gas can therefore travel thousands of kilometres before reaching the Belgian border.

 

Transporting gas to Belgium

Natural gas is transported to Belgium from the producing countries by pipeline or by LNG vessel.

  • Pipelines. There are underground pipelines and subsea pipelines. Dutch, Russian and some Norwegian natural gas is moved to the Belgian border via underground pipelines. British natural gas - and some Norwegian natural gas - is moved to Belgium through subsea pipes.
  • LNG vessels. LNG vessels are huge ships used for transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). In its liquid state, natural gas takes up 600 times less space than in its gaseous state, which means a a large amount of energy can be transported in a compact volume.

Transmission in Belgium

For transmission of natural gas through Belgium, Fluxys only uses underground pipelines. These move natural gas to power stations, large industrial customers and distribution system operators (DSOs). DSOs are responsible for further distribution of natural gas to residential end-users and small businesses. Fluxys also transports natural gas from border to border to supply other countries.

 

Storage

Throughout the year, natural gas suppliers import gas into Fluxys’ network relatively constantly. However, there are significant differences between natural gas consumption for heating in winter and summer. Storage facilities are used to offset these seasonal fluctuations in consumption. In spring and summer, natural gas suppliers import more natural gas than demand requires, and the surplus is stored. In winter, consumption exceeds the volume of gas imported, so the stored gas is used to cope with the demand.

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