Germany used to obtain more than half of its natural gas requirements from Russia. Then came the Ukraine crisis and Moscow turned off the gas supply. From the point of view of the gas industry, this must have consequences.
On the anniversary of the Russian gas supply freeze to Germany, the gas industry once again spoke out in favor of expanding the landing capacities for liquefied natural gas (LNG).
“In retrospect, Putin’s energy terrorism also clearly showed how important a diversified infrastructure is,” said Timm Kehler, the head of the industry association Zukunft Gas, the German Press Agency. “In view of the further necessary expansion of the German LNG infrastructure, we must therefore ensure that this critical infrastructure is not sewn on edge.”
More terminals will be installed
For example, calls for a stop to the expansion in Mukran on Rügen went in the wrong direction. “Sufficient capacity must also be available for emergencies and unplanned outages,” says Kehler. A resilient infrastructure must be able to absorb the failure of its most important supplier. However, this so-called “N-1 criterion” is currently not met.
On August 31, 2022, Russia pumped natural gas through the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline to Germany for the last time. The gas now flows to Germany through pipelines, mainly from Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands. There are also smaller quantities via three floating LNG terminals in the North and Baltic Seas.
Three more terminals are to be installed next winter, including one in Mukran. Several stationary LNG terminals are scheduled to go into operation in 2025 and 2026. “The gas flows to Germany are stable and balanced”, is how the Federal Network Agency assesses the current gas supply situation.
dependence on Russia
Kehler pointed out that many EU countries are still dependent on Russian gas supplies. “Austria, for example, continues to be supplied with around 60 percent of Russian natural gas via Ukraine transit.” This is also why it is important to quickly expand the German infrastructure in order to stand by European partners in solidarity if, for example, the Russian-Ukrainian transit agreements expire in the coming year.
According to the Federal Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), 45 billion kilowatt hours of gas have already been landed via the new German LNG terminals since the first terminal went into operation at the end of December 2022. The amount corresponds to the annual consumption (around 20,000 kilowatt hours) of around 2.25 million households.
Source: Stern
