Germany opens LNG terminal.

Germany has opened its floating liquefied natural gas terminal in the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven, marking a crucial milestone in its quest for energy independence from Russia. Olaf Scholz, the chancellor, inaugurated the Höegh Esperanza floating storage and regasification unit, one of five that the German government has contracted to fill the energy gap formed after Russia invaded Ukraine in February. The Esperanza, a specialised ship the length of nearly three football fields, is carrying 170mn cubic metres of LNG, much of it from the US, enough to supply 50,000 households with gas for a year. Over the coming weeks, it will be reconverted to gas and fed into Germany’s onshore pipeline network. Moscow’s decision to drastically reduce gas exports to Germany during the summer plunged Europe’s largest economy into its worst energy crisis since the second world war.

Before the invasion of Ukraine, Russia accounted for more than half of Germany’s gas imports. However, Berlin’s efforts to find a substitute were impeded by its lack of LNG import infrastructure and its near total reliance on pipelines such as Nord Stream 1 that brought gas directly from Russia. «Russia’s President Putin thought he could blackmail us by switching off the gas supply,» Scholz said. «He was wrong.» The chancellor added that Germany would soon have an LNG import capacity of 30bn cubic metres a year on its northern coasts.

The infrastructure for the Wilhelm-shaven FSRU was built in 10 months, a record for a country where big energy projects tend to take years to complete. The Esperanza will be supplemented by a second FSRU, the Höegh Gannet, which will operate in the nearby port of Brunsbüttel in January. «This is a milestone for Germany becoming energy independent,» Erik Nyheim, chief executive of Höegh LNG, which owns the Esperanza, Gannet and Neptune, told the Financial Times. Nyheim said the Höegh Esperanza, Gannet and Neptune would have a combined regasification capacity of 17.5bn cubic metres a year, representing «a significant contribution» to Germany’s energy supply.

«We are threatened with massive overcapacity and lock-in effects, although gas consumption in Germany has to fall dramatically in the coming years,» said Sascha Müller-Kraenner, head of German Environmental Aid. « That’s why Germany needs the terminals».

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