Dutch and north German gas
network operators Monday launched a service to allow cross-border gas pipeline
capacity booking for the first time, the companies said in a statement.
The service put in place by BEB Transport GmbH, which operates north German
networks, and Gas Transport Services BV, which operates Dutch networks, will
allow shippers to book capacity to move gas through pipelines on both sides of
the border in a single request.
The initiative is an important step in the development towards an integrated
European gas market, the companies said.
Gas Transport Services is a subsidiary of state-owned Dutch gas transport
company NV Nederlandse Gasunie. By the middle of 2008 Gasunie expects to
complete the purchase of BEB Gas Transport.