FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Germany is acquiring liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals as part of its efforts to diversify away from Russian gas.
It leased four floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) in May, capable of importing at least 5 billion cubic metres (bcm) of seaborne gas per year each. The first one was completed in Wilhelmshaven on Nov. 15.
Wilhelmshaven and Brunsbuettel are developed by Uniper and RWE, respectively.
The Elbe river port of Stade and Lubmin on the Baltic Sea will also receive an FSRU each.
Germany has also formalised the chartering of a fifth floating LNG ship for Wilhelmshaven, the economy ministry said on Oct. 25, ready for the first quarter of 2023.
WILHELMSHAVEN
Uniper in August received approval for the start of construction of an FSRU facility.
Later, facilities to import ammonia and set up an electrolysis plant for turning ammonia into clean hydrogen will be set up at the location.
BRUNSBUETTEL
An FSRU at Brunsbuettel is expected to deliver gas from the end of 2022 or early in 2023 and serve as a forerunner of a fixed LNG facility.
Dutch gas network operator Gasunie, which has a 40% stake in the FSRU project, is planning two related gas pipelines.
State bank KfW and RWE are stakeholders in the fixed facility. Shell has committed itself to some guaranteed purchases.
STADE
Project operator Hanseatic Energy Hub (HEH), due to receive an FSRU to go into operation from the end of next year, previously launched invitations to market participants to book regasification capacity at a planned land-based hub.
This could materialise in 2026.
It is backed by gas network company Fluxys, investment firm Partners Group, logistics group Buss and chemicals company Dow.
EnBW has committed itself as a buyer.
Applications for the terminal and port have been submitted. A final investment decision is expected next year.
LUBMIN
The operators of the state-leased FSRU destined for Lubmin expect it to be operational at the end of 2023.
A private consortium, Deutsche ReGas, aims to develop another FSRU hub there earlier and says a recent tender for annual regasification capacity of 11.7 bcm was oversubscribed, with 15.2 bcm sought after.
(Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by Jane Merriman, David Goodman, Kirsten Donovan)
