The Fos Tonkin LNG terminal at Fos-sur-Mer in the Bouches-du-Rhône region of France, 50 kilometers west of Marseille, was joined in 2010 by the Fos Cavaou terminal, which came on stream that year to receive Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Qatar.

The Fos Cavaou LNG terminal has a regasification capacity of 8.25 billion m3 per year; a volume equivalent to around 20% of annual gas consumption in France. Operated by ENGIE subsidiary Elengy, this 80-hectare facility has three 110,000 m3 storage tanks.

The Fos Cavaou terminal came on stream in April 2010 and can be accessed directly from the Mediterranean by the latest generations of very large LNG carriers, like the 345-meter long Q-Max 345 vessels capable of carrying up to 266,000 m3 of LNG. Since 2010, this terminal has served nearly 250 LNG carriers, including a Qatari Q-Max in August 2013.

At the cutting edge of innovation, Fos Cavaou delivers high performance and modularity. Its facilities can now offer high-capacity LNG carrier reloading at the rate of 4,250 m3 per hour.

Planned capacity expansion at the Fos Cavaou terminal

Given the strategic position of Fos Cavaou as a supply point for Europe, Elengy is planning to expand the capacity of the terminal to meet new levels of market demand.

So in close consultation with local authorities and communities, the CAPMAX project will double the current capacity of the terminal to 16.5 billion m3 of natural gas per year. The project includes the construction of one or two more LNG storage tanks, new regasification plants and gas supply systems.

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