AMSTERDAM, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi National Energy Co (Taqa) said on Wednesday it had agreed with partners to invest 800 million euros ($1.2 billion) to jointly develop a gas storage project in the Netherlands with Russia's Gazprom.
Construction of the facility north of Amsterdam will start after all necessary permits have been granted, which Taqa expected to receive in 2010. It is aiming for commercial operations to begin in 2013.
"This is a substantial milestone and represents Taqa's commitment to this flagship project," said Paul van Gelder, managing director of Taqa in the Netherlands.
Taqa is working on the Bergermeer project with a consortium that includes developers Dyas, Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN) and Petro-Canada.
Gazprom will provide cushion gas for the project, which is necessary to ensure the reservoir has optimal pressure to start storage activities, in exchange for working capacity and a participating interest in the operator of the facility.
The final investment decision follows a memorandum of understanding between the companies signed in December last year.
They aim to use a depleted gas reservoir for storage with a working volume of around 4 billion cubic metres (bcm) and an extra 4.6 bcm of cushion gas to control the pressure.