Swiss Axpo Eyes German LNG Capacity

Swiss trader Axpo has signed a heads of agreement with German LNG Terminal for German regasification capacity at Brunsbuttel, north Germany, it said May 6. The agreement nudges the project towards final investment decision late this year.

There are two LNG projects being planned for Germany, the other being managed by major utility Uniper, to be built at Wilhelmshaven.

Axpo's head of trading Domenico De Luca said Axpo has been active in global LNG markets for nine years and its LNG business is one of its most important strategic growth areas as Germany closes down its coal-fired capacity by 2038. "Our goal is to further optimise the delivery of LNG to our customers together with German LNG Terminal,” he said.

Axpo's LNG services include access to the most important international trade markets, backed by long-term natural gas supplies, a 5% stake in the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and distribution channels in most European countries.

GLNGT head Rolf Brouwer welcomed Axpo "as an additional strong partner" as GLNGT continues "to powerfully move forward with the realisation of our terminal project. Obviously, an increasing number of market players are convinced of the future relevance of LNG for the German energy market and rely on our concept of a multiservice terminal with an independent terminal operator."

The investment decision is scheduled for the end of 2019. After receiving the necessary permits, construction work could then start in 2020 with the terminal presumably being operationally by the end of 2022. 

GLNGT is a joint venture of the Dutch companies Gasunie and Vopak and Germany's Oiltanking, which is based in Hamburg. There are two planned terminals in Germany, the other being backed by Uniper but to be owned and operated by Mitsui, for which ExxonMobil has provisionally booked a large amount of capacity. 

In late March, the German government passed a regulation to make it easier to build LNG import facilities. The country currently relies heavily on Russian and Norwegian pipeline gas.