Annual Report

The geopolitical situation has profoundly changed the dynamics of gas markets and the direction of flows in Europe. Throughout the year, our teams across the country left no stone unturned to ensure security of supply in North-West Europe. Flows to Germany soared to 256 TWh (from 20 TWh in 2021) and those to the Netherlands increased to 145 TWh (from 68 TWh in 2021). At the same time, the Loenhout storage facility was filled to record levels before the winter period started.

Achieving climate neutrality will require flows of hydrogen and CO₂. Together with industry, our partners and neighbouring operators, we have accelerated our pursuit of this objective. Intensive preparations are underway on hydrogen and CO₂ pipeline and terminalling projects across Belgium’s wide range of industrial clusters.

Given the new supply situation in Europe, speed and adaptability are the watchwords for new infrastructure as well. We prepared thoroughly for the first phase in the construction of the Zeebrugge-Opwijk pipeline, comprising the section between Desteldonk and Opwijk. This will boost our capacity to carry natural gas inland from Zeebrugge. At the same time, the pipeline is an initial step towards speeding up the energy transition as it will be immediately available for hydrogen transport as soon as the market is ready.

Taking part in sporting activities with colleagues at lunchtime or after work is not only a pleasant thing to do – it also fosters team spirit and boosts motivation levels. That is why we set up Connect & Move, encouraging colleagues to exercise together, put together teams and throw themselves into sporting events. As a result, 120 colleagues went for it at 16 events across Belgium!

Keeping up the good work and tapping into our innovative side to help build a climate-neutral society. That is the message of our multimedia campaign in which we enthusiastically pursued our search for talent. The results of this speak for themselves, with no fewer than 81 new colleagues joining our team. Settling in quickly makes all the difference. That’s why we provide a warm welcome as part of an innovative induction programme.

Our commitment: to be a climate-neutral company by 2035. The first milestone is to halve our greenhouse-gas emissions by 2025, compared with 2017. In 2022, we reached that milestone for methane emissions in our transmission and storage businesses. In our LNG business, three additional open-rack vaporisers currently under construction will reduce the Zeebrugge terminal’s emissions.

At the Belgian-German energy summit in Zeebrugge in early 2023, the two countries agreed to further increase energy cooperation. Key element in that cooperation is to ensure a pipeline corridor to facilitate hydrogen transport between Belgium and Germany.