Uniper breaks ground on German LNG project
Uniper said July 4 it had started building a 7.5bn m3/yr capacity floating LNG terminal in the Lower Saxony port of Wilhelmshaven, which will deliver sufficient regasification capacity to cover around 8.5% of Germany's annual gas consumption.
The construction launch follows the official project sanctioning by German regulator State Trade Supervisor Authority, which has said imports can start from the 2022/2023 winter demand season. Uniper says the FLNG vessel will be stationed in deep waters off Wilhelmshaven's shoreline. It will pump regasified LNG into German operator Open Grid Europe's infrastructure, via a 30km high-pressure gas pipeline.
Four floating storage and regasification units have been leased by Germany in a bid to access global LNG trade and reduce Russian gas dependency, with two terminals due to launch by early 2023. Berlin has allocated $3.2bn to fund the new terminals, and also expects an FSRU to be stationed within "months" at the Baltic Sea port of Lubmin. Further LNG terminals could be built at Brunsbuettel (8bn m3/yr) and Stade (12bn m3/yr).
Uniper's CEO Klaus-Dieter Maubach said Wilhelmshaven showed Germany was serious about boosting the nation's energy security. It follows a challenging week for his company, amid reports it could seek a state-bail out, with Gazprom deliveries through the Nord Stream pipeline significantly reduced. As of last year, Germany imported around 55% of its overall gas requirement from Russia. Uniper reported in mid-June that Gazprom was delivering 25% less than contracted.
Maubach said: "The rapid approval for the early start of construction shows the importance of the LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven for the country's security of supply. This cannot be taken for granted - above all, it shows what is possible when society, industry and politics pull together."