LNG imports via Wilhelmshaven should start by early 2023 at the latest. Then the first tankers with liquid gas should be able to dock. What is still missing is a pipeline.
In order to connect the planned import terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Wilhelmshaven to the long-distance gas network, a 30-kilometer pipeline is to be built in the Friesland district by the end of this year.
Together with a floating platform through which the liquefied gas is landed and regasified, LNG imports via Wilhelmshaven should start by early 2023 at the latest. Lower Saxony’s Energy Minister Olaf Lies (SPD) presented corresponding plans together with the gas network operator Open Grid Europe (OGE), who wants to build the line, and representatives of municipalities on Friday in Hooksiel.
Three companies are ready for construction
In order to reduce dependency on gas supplies from Russia, there are three companies in Wilhelmshaven that could be considered for setting up an LNG import terminal: the energy group Uniper, the Belgian company Tree Energy Solutions and Nord-West Oelleitung GmbH. However, according to the Ministry of Energy in Hanover, permanently installed terminals could not be operational before 2025 at the earliest – before that, Floating Storage and Regasification Units (FSRU), floating landing and storage platforms, should be used in Wilhelmshaven, to which LNG tankers can moor.
The federal government wants to install three of these floating import terminals in Germany in the short term. Where exactly the systems will dock is not yet known. Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania have already raised their fingers.
A pipeline is still missing
The Vosslapper Groden handling facility is available as a berth for such FSRUs in Wilhelmshaven, not far from the deep-water port Jade-Weser-Port. What is still missing is the now planned pipeline from the Vosslapper Groden to the next connection point of the long-distance gas network. Initially, the line should be able to transport a capacity of 10 billion cubic meters, with further expansion of the gas network in the hinterland up to 22 billion are possible in the medium term, according to Open Grid Europe.
In response to the Ukraine war, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the rapid construction of two LNG terminals in Germany, naming Brunsbüttel in Schleswig-Holstein and Wilhelmshaven in Lower Saxony as locations. Plans are also underway for a liquefied natural gas terminal in Stade, Lower Saxony. LNG is refrigerated natural gas liquefied under high pressure that can be transported in tankers and is intended to be used in Europe as an alternative to pipeline gas. To date, the EU has obtained almost half of its traditional natural gas requirements from Russia.
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
