Shareholders GNL Quintero S.A. (%)
BG Group has 40% ownership of GNLQ (ENAP 20%, ENDESA 20%, Metrogas S.A. 20%), which owns and operates the 2.5 mtpa LNG import terminal located in Quintero Bay, 110 kilometres from Santiago.
The terminal was the first onshore regasification terminal to be operational in the southern hemisphere, receiving its first LNG cargo in July 2009. GNLQ declared the commercial operation date effective from 1 January 2011 following the completion of construction and testing in 2010. Capacity of the terminal is 2.5 mtpa but there is possibility for expansion to meet future demand.
BG Group’s partners in GNLQ have secured capacity rights in the terminal and have arranged to off-take the gas via 21-year agreements, with 1.7 mtpa of LNG supplied by BG Group from its portfolio.
The regasification plant includes two 160 000 cubic metre LNG storage tanks which have an initial send-out capacity of 340 mmscfd on a sustainable basis and 510 mmscfd on a peaking basis, the equivalent of approximately 40% of the country’s demand for natural gas.
In March 2011, GNLQ commissioned a truck loading facility, which enables the supply of LNG to areas which are not connected to the central Chilean gas transmission system.