Germany Completes 1st LNG Terminal At North Sea Port

Germany on Tuesday marked the completion of port facilities for the first of five planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals it is scrambling to put in place as it replaces the Russian pipeline gas that once accounted for more than half its supplies.

Photo Insert: The LNG site in the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven

The site in the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven was one of two that the German government announced shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Germany until now has had no LNG terminals, Pietro de Cristofaro and Geir Moulson reported for Associated Press (AP).

Five such terminals are planned in total — part of a drive to prevent an energy crunch that also includes temporarily reactivating old oil- and coal-fired power stations and extending the life of Germany’s last three nuclear power plants, which were supposed to be switched off at the end of this year, until mid-April.

Germany also filled its gas storage facilities ahead of the winter, although officials stress that it’s still necessary for households and businesses to save gas. Construction work on the Wilhelmshaven terminal started in May.

The next step will be the docking of a specially equipped ship, the so-called “floating storage and regasification unit.” Authorities hope that the terminal will be ready to start work and receive tankers full of LNG at the beginning of the year.

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