Europe’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Milford Haven has reached a major milestone.

Building of the South Hook terminal is now complete and the terminal is fully commissioned.

With a total processing capacity of 15.6million tonnes a year of LNG, it is capable of delivering up to 21billion cubic metres of gas every year into the national transmission system.

Qatargas is one of the partners in the South Hook terminal and the company’s chief executive officer Faisal Al-Suwaidi said: “This milestone would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of hundreds of people from across the world.

“South Hook, as part of Qatargas 2 project, is groundbreaking in terms of size, organisation, finance and its strategic importance.”

The project has been more than seven years in the making. Planning permission for the South Hook site was applied for in April 2003.

Many thousands of contractors have worked on the site during the construction phases which lasted several years.

The first LNG tanker at the terminal — the Tembek — arrived at South Hook in March 2009, with an official inauguration event with the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Andrew taking place in May.

The company said that during the life of the South Hook project it is forecast to inject more than £1billion into the local economy.