Notices

GasTerra publishes its results for 2009

The economic crisis and a deteriorating market environment have caused turnover to fall back by more than € 5.6 billion, to € 18.3 billion

Groningen, April 19, 2010 – GasTerra BV, a Dutch company trading in natural gas, today has published its results for 2009. The most striking development was the sharp drop in turnover. In the year under review, revenues totalled € 18.3 billion as against € 24 billion in 2008. The volume of gas sold fell by 1.6 billion to 82.4 billion m³.

Negative factors
Commenting on the figures for the year, GasTerra CEO Gertjan Lankhorst stated that there were two main causes for the fall in turnover. ‘First of all, the economic crisis did not leave the energy market unaffected. Demand for energy diminished on account of negative economic growth. The second development to affect us adversely was the increased competition in the gas market. Over the last few years, important investments have been made in new gas fields, most of which are located at great distances from the largest sales markets. Terminals for liquefied natural gas (LNG) have been built all over the world in order to transport the extracted gas over the sea in specially designed ships. In Europe terminals have been built to enter this gas in the regional pipelines network. Another relatively recent development is the successful production of unconventional gas in North America. This has meant a substantial increase in the recoverable supplies in this part of the world. As a result large volumes of natural gas are available for the European market. To a certain extent, GasTerra has been able to avoid the consequences of this oversupply, because we are more than simply a supplier of natural gas. We can offer our customers added value in the form of security and flexibility.’

More trade on the free market
Over the last few years, the free gas market has expanded enormously. GasTerra is an active trading partner on the Dutch virtual gas hub, TTF (Title Transfer Facility). In 2009, the company sold a total of 14 billion m³ of gas to a range of customers via the TTF. This volume represents approximately 50 percent of the total amount physically supplied via the TTF.
Since the summer of 2009, the prices of oil and natural gas have been diverging. Oil prices increased while price levels on the TTF and other spot markets reached an historic low point, principally as a result of the large supplies of gas. However, GasTerra is expecting a supply shortage to emerge once again when the economy picks up. Despite the growth of the free market, large volumes are still being traded via long-term contracts with foreign customers. In the year under review, GasTerra extended contracts that had existed for a number of years with the French GDF/SUEZ, the Belgian Distrigas and the Swiss Swissgas.

New products
GasTerra has adapted to the new reality of the liberalised gas market by continuously developing new product/market combinations that correspond to the customers’ specific requirements. In advance of the amendment of the Dutch Gas Act, GasTerra has been offering a range of new products on the TTF, enabling buyers to manage their own portfolio effectively. Many buyers on the domestic market still have a preference for contracts whereby the gas is not delivered virtually but directly at the connection point. By this means, GasTerra is also able to provide such customers with the product they require. The company is paying particular attention to the development of innovative natural gas products that can help to make the energy regime more sustainable. One example of this is the incorporation of green gas into the conventional gas system.

Natural gas - vital for energy transition
In 2009, GasTerra supported various projects and initiatives aimed at ensuring that our energy is derived from more sustainable sources in the future. Natural gas has a crucial part to play in this process. Over the coming decades, it will be essential for our transition to complete sustainability in energy, principally because society still depends on fossil fuels, and, of such fuels, natural gas produces the least CO2 emissions, but also because natural gas affords the flexibility that renewable forms of energy cannot offer. GasTerra is thus expecting natural gas to fulfil an increasingly important role in the coming decades; not primarily as a base load-fuel for gas-fired electricity power stations, but also as a back-up in case the wind does not blow or the sun does not shine.

[Note for the editor]

The full annual and social report of GasTerra can be found on a specially designed micro website. Visit www.gasterrareport.eu. For additional information on the annual report please contact GasTerra’s Chief Communications Officer, Anton Buijs, tel. +31 (0) 50 364 88 10; email anton.buijs@gasterra.nl.



Company profile
GasTerra is an international company trading in natural gas. It operates on the European energy market and has a significant share of the Dutch gas market. It also provides gas-related services. The company has a strong purchasing position and has over 40 years’ experience in purchasing and selling natural gas. GasTerra promotes the safe and efficient consumption of natural gas and takes active steps to develop further applications. The company recognises the great importance of energy transition to sustainable energy supplies and initiates projects in that context.