Second German Import Terminal Starts Up Next Week

Deutsche ReGas will officially launch its LNG terminal project at the Baltic Sea port of Lubmin on Jan. 14, meaning Germany should have two LNG terminals in operation next week.

A Deutsche ReGas spokesperson confirmed with Energy Intelligence that the company plans to start operations on Jan. 14, and said media and politicians have been invited for the official opening.

The 4.5 billion cubic meter capacity import project — amounting to about 3.3 million tons of LNG per year — was expected to start commercial operations by the end of last year, however the official launch has been held up by permitting issues.

The final permits required for the start of the project are expected to be granted by the local government of Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania next week. The local government said in a press release on Jan. 5 that the approval process is nearing completion.

Deutsche ReGas’s project has already received first LNG, with the 140,500 cubic meter Seapeak Hispania having arrived on Dec. 21 with a cargo from Egypt’s Idku LNG plant. The Seapeak will be utilized as a floating storage unit (FSU).

LNG will be supplied from the FSU to the Neptune floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) via small-scale LNG carriers. The Neptune arrived at Lubmin on Dec. 16 and received first LNG via the small-scale Coral Furcata LNG carrier on Dec. 30.

Start-up of the Lubmin terminal means Germany should have two LNG terminals — with a combined capacity of 9.5 Bcm/yr – in operation next week. Earlier this week Uniper confirmed it imported Germany's first full cargo of LNG at its Wilhelmshaven terminal on the country's North Sea Coast. The German utility expects to start commercial operations at its terminal in mid-January.

Uniper and Deutsche ReGas’s projects are two of six LNG terminals expected to come online in Germany this year, with three expected online this month. The six terminals have a combined annual regasification capacity of around 30 Bcm (about 21.8 million tons of LNG) and have been fast-tracked in a bid to help replace Russian gas pipeline flows which were throttled last year.

Norway Takes Top Spot

Russia lost its crown as Germany’s largest gas supplier last year, German energy regulator Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA) confirmed on Friday. Pipeline flows from Russia gradually fell over the first half of last year before drying up completely in September after the Nord Stream blasts.

Russia accounted for 22% of Germany’s total imports of 1,449 terawatt hours (approximately 148 Bcm), down from 52% in 2021. Norway replaced Russia as Germany’s main gas supplier, accounting for 33% of total imports.

Germany’s imports were down around 12% on 2021, while consumption fell 14% compared to average consumption over the past four years amid warmer weather and the government rolling out energy saving measures.