Port of Antwerp-Bruges is one of the most important pipeline hubs in Western Europe. Pipelines offer the industry a safe, reliable and environmentally friendly means of transport for the supply and distribution of liquid products. They also play a key role in the energy transition.
Within the chemical cluster in Antwerp, the industrial and independent tank storage operations are connected to each other via 48 different product pipelines or 1,000 km of pipelines that account for almost 90% of all transport of liquid goods within the port.
Pipelines are the most environmentally friendly, energy efficient and safe mode of transport. They realise growth opportunities in the context of the energy transition.
Port of Antwerp-Bruges took over the management of this pipeline network from the National Pipeline Company at the end of 2017 and plans to expand the network even further with the company Pipelink.
Zeebruges is connected by pipelines to the Norwegian gas fields via Gassco's Zeepipe and to the United Kingdom via the Interconnector. LNG is mainly delivered by sea from Qatar. The LNG is traded, delivered to the Belgian market or to consumer markets in Europe.
The ARG ethylene pipeline network (Aetylen-Rohrleitungs-Geselschafft) connects the chemical industries in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. From Antwerp, Europe's largest producer of ethylene, countless pipelines extend out towards Terneuzen, Rotterdam, Feluy and the Rhine-Ruhr region. These pipelines ensure strong integration with the local industry there.
Strengthening the pipeline network that connects Antwerp, Limburg and the Ruhr region in Germany is of major economic importance for Belgian and European industry.
Flemish minister Philippe Muyters' commitment in this regard was therefore good news. He recently stated his intention, together with the Port of Antwerp-Bruges and the umbrella organisations Essenscia and Fetrapi, to launch a study on the ground with a view to the necessary future reservation of land for new pipelines in the Ruhr region.
Pipelines are ideal for transporting hydrogen and CO₂, for example, and are also essential for the construction of heat networks. Examples include the steam network ECLUSE, which will supply energy to surrounding port companies using heat from six incinerators.
