Fifth floating LNG terminal to help Germany become independent of Russian gas

Germany will use a fifth floating liquid natural gas (LNG) terminal in its drive to wean itself off Russian gas imports at a pace “never seen before” in the country. A private consortium will establish the terminal in Lubmin by the end of this year, where the suspended Nord Stream 2 pipeline connecting Germany to Russia via the Baltic Sea reaches land, the economy ministry said. In addition to terminals in Wilhelmshaven and Brunsbüttel by the North Sea coast, two further terminals will also be established: one in Stade, near the city of Hamburg, and a second one in Lubmin, which is located near the border to Poland. The latter two terminals will start operation in late 2023 at the earliest, while Wilhelmshaven and Brunsbüttel are set to start operations around the start of next year. “We have to build up a new infrastructure within a very short time in order to be able to replace Russian gas as quickly as possible,” economy and climate minister Robert Habeck said. “We have to set a pace that has never been seen before in Germany."

In addition to the five floating LNG terminals to be established on the German coast, supply via the LNG terminals in the Dutch port of Rotterdam, Zeebrugge in Belgium and Dunkirk in France will continue to be added if demand is high, enabling further capacity to the German market, the ministry said. The country has a well-developed natural gas pipeline grid and is connected to terminals in neighbouring countries, but does not currently have its own port to receive LNG directly. The war against Ukraine has put efforts to diversify Germany’s gas supply away from Russian deliveries at the top of the political agenda. LNG is natural gas that has been super-cooled (−162°C) to a liquid state for easier storage and transportation. It must then go through the process of regasification at the terminal before being fed into existing gas grids and pipelines.