After the commissioning of the first German LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven, around the turn of the year and in January, further new liquefied natural gas transshipment points are to be opened in Germany. In addition to energy saving measures, they should help to become independent of Russian natural gas supplies. A total of five floating terminals are planned, which should be ready for use in the short term with state aid: two in Wilhelmshaven and one each in Brunsbüttel, Stade and Lubmin.
Brunsbüttel: The ship is coming in January
The technical prerequisites for the floating LNG terminal have been created in Brunsbüttel, Schleswig-Holstein. The heart of the transshipment point for LNG, the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU), was most recently in a port in France and is scheduled to call at Brunsbüttel in January, as RWE announced. A connection to the long-distance gas pipeline network was also completed in the past few weeks. RWE has a stake in the terminal, which is to be operated by Gasunie. Plans for a terminal date back to September 2018. However, as at other locations, the project for a terminal built on land only picked up speed with Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine and the uncertainties that arose with regard to the gas supply.
The onshore terminal is scheduled to go into operation in 2026. According to the plan, it will have two LNG tanks with a capacity of 165,000 cubic meters each and an LNG regasification plant. The terminal is said to have a throughput capacity of up to 8 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, which can be expanded to 10 billion cubic meters.
Lubmin: Trial operation started
In Lubmin in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the trial operation of the local LNG terminal was approved. The place where the two Baltic Sea pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2 from Russia land has a tradition in gas imports and has corresponding connections to the long-distance network. However, due to the nature of the sea connection, there are challenges for the LNG import that the other locations of LNG terminals do not have. Therefore, before continuous operation, it should first be tested whether the import via the flat Greifswalder Bodden works as planned.
The operator of the terminal is Deutsche ReGas. The result of the trial operation is expected in January. Then the responsible authorities in the country have to decide on the further steps. The first tanker with liquefied natural gas recently arrived. The “Seaspeak Hispania” has 140,000 cubic meters of LNG from Egypt on board. The 200-meter-long ship is intended to remain permanently in the Baltic Sea as a kind of intermediate buffer. From there, smaller shuttle ships are to bring the liquefied natural gas to the FSRU “Neptune”, which is located in Lubmin and feeds it into the gas network from there.
The Höegh “Neptune” in previous use as a floating LNG terminal with an LNG tanker unloading its cargo. The FSRU is now in Lubmin awaiting commissioning.
Stade: It will start at the end of 2023
There are also plans for a land-based LNG terminal in Stade, but this will initially be realized with a floating FSRU. Operations are scheduled to start there at the end of 2023. The three shareholders, the Buss Group, the Partners Group and Dow, are planning to take over the land terminal of the Hanseatic Energy Hub from 2027. According to the plans, a special feature of the land terminal is its zero emissions. The regasification capacity will later be 13.3 billion cubic meters per year.
Wilhelmshaven: plans for number 2
In Wilhelmshaven, the first LNG terminal operated by Uniper officially went into operation in mid-December. One day earlier than planned, the first gas from the FSRU “Höegh Esperanza” was fed into the gas grid.
Meanwhile, preparations are underway for a second floating terminal to be operated by TES not far from the first. The floating platform can be used from autumn 2023.
Uniper and TES meanwhile plan together a large port infrastructure with at least 6 berths. Corresponding contracts were signed on the sidelines of the opening ceremony for the LNG terminal. This is primarily about the next step, the import of so-called green gases. This includes, for example, hydrogen produced with the help of solar and wind power, which after conversion into ammonia is transported by ship and later converted back into hydrogen.
Other terminals are to follow
A total of eleven projects for LNG terminals in Germany are currently known. Climate protectors are therefore sounding the alarm. They fear massive overcapacity and a freeze on imports of fossil fuels for decades. According to a media report, there are now also doubts at the Federal Ministry of Economics.
(mki)
