Germany Gets Second Floating Gas Terminal

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Germany's second floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) for the storage and processing of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has arrived at the northeastern Port of Lubmin.

The FSRU, Neptune, was moved into position in the Port of Lubmin after a month of alteration works at the Mukran Port and could be connected to the existing pipeline infrastructure by the end of the month. The news comes a week after the country officially opened its first floating LNG terminal at the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven in its efforts to replace gas supplies which Russia is withholding from Europe.

Built in 2009, the Neptune has a capacity of 145,130 cubic meters (cbm) of liquid gas and a regasification capacity of 750 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCF/d). Developed by Lubmin-based Deutsche ReGas, it is the first privately-financed LNG terminal in the country. It will be capable of supplying up to 5.2 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas per year.

"We are delighted that the Neptune is now in Lubmin," said Dr. Stephan Knabe, chairman of the supervisory board of Deutsche ReGas. "She will be moored according to regulations and promptly connected to the shore connection line, so that we can start the first tests immediately for the LNG terminal." Works on the vessel included reducing its draft from 9.6 meters to around 5.2 meters and adding a pipe adapter to connect it to the existing gas network.

Germany's government is separately funding the addition of five FSRUs to cope with major gas shortages, sparked by Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February. Before the war in Ukraine, the country was reliant on Russia for 55% of its gas imports, but that figure is now less than half that and falling. In recent months it has spent 3 billion euro (US$3.1 billion) to rent two FSRUs each from Hoegh LNG (NYSE:HMLP) and Dynagas LNG Partners (NYSE:DLNG). For additional information, see May 16, 2022, article - Germany Secures Four Floating LNG Carriers to Replace Russian Gas.

The first of those floating terminals has just been commissioned at the western port of Wilhelmshaven. The terminal will be capable of handling up to 7.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year--about 8.5% of Germany's current gas demand per year. The Hoegh Esperanza FSRU will service the terminal and is now in place with a liquid-gas capacity of 170,000 cbm. The terminal was built in a record time of just 10 months. Speaking at the inauguration, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: "Many said it would be impossible to get it built this year but when we work together we can do things at great speed: that's Germany's new tempo. The speed with which we built this should be a model for future infrastructure build-outs. Not just for this plant but for many others. Germany and the European Union will become a great deal more secure and independent."

The third LNG terminal to come online will probably be at Brunsbüttel, which is being developed by German energy major RWE AG (Essen, Germany). It will have a jetty with two berthing facilities for ships up to Q-Max size--the largest class of LNG ship--as well as facilities for distributing LNG by trucks, rail tank cars and smaller ships. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Terminals Project Database can click here for the Brunsbüttel project report.

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