© iepieleaks.nlIveco Stralis LNGIn 2012, Dutch government agreed on a tax increase for liquefied gas (LPG). Due to the close link between LPG and LNG tax burden, it meant the increase in the excise tax also on LNG. However, according to the National LNG Platform, raising the excise from 18 to 31 cents per kilogram of LNG would have disastrous consequences for the development of LNG market in the Netherlands.
Treating LNG and LPG according to the same rules is unjustified, claims the National LNG Platform. The organization is still committed to the development of an appropriate fiscal policy in respect to LNG.
Research commissioned by the Dutch government revealed that wider introduction of LNG as a fuel in transport would enable EUR 2,7 billion of additional economic growth and create 8000 jobs. According to the National LNG Platform, by 2015 LNG will have powered 50 inland vessels, 50 maritime vessels and 500 trucks in the Netherlands.
The introduction of LNG as a transport fuel puts the Netherlands ahead of other European countries. We now have the opportunity to expand on this lead. Following a period of insecurity, transport companies in the Netherlands now have clarity. For them, this removes the main obstacle on the way to switching to LNG.
Gerrit van Tongeren, National LNG Platform’s chairman
Several companies are already planning on developing their LNG infrastructure. For example, Shell plans on constructing seven LNG refueling stations. The company already operates LNG tankers used in inland navigation. GDF Suez – an energy distributor – also invests in the entire supply chain of LNG, from refueling stations to ship bunkering (refueling) facilities to finding solutions that would ensure the supply of LNG to its customers. The first public LNG station has already been launched. The second station (a mobile one) is ready to supply LNG to new customers. Over the next three to five years, GDF Suez plans to open fifteen LNG stations that will supply this fuel to road and sea transport.
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