Gas - Regas sticks to schedule for LNG terminal in Mukran
Will the terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) being built on the coast of Rügen be launched this winter? "We are still sticking to this promise," a spokesperson for Deutsche Regas told the German Press Agency. Accordingly, the company expects the first of the two planned terminal ships to arrive in Mukran in the first few weeks of next year. Neither the construction progress of the facilities in the port nor the connection pipeline through the Baltic Sea are currently standing in the way of this.
The gas network operator Gascade is also aiming to complete the approximately 50-kilometer connection from Mukran to the mainland as quickly as possible. "The schedule is challenging," said a spokeswoman. The pipeline has largely been laid. The section from the landing point in Mukran has also already been pulled in. Work is continuing on the station on land, where large spherical shut-off valves are located, among other things. The connection of the pipeline sections at sea also depends on the weather. Gascade originally wanted to complete the connection mechanically this year. This is likely to be tight.
The first floating terminal, also known as the FSRU, is the "Transgas Power", which is due to moor in Mukran. It is currently still sailing as an LNG tanker off the coast of the USA. An FSRU converts the liquefied natural gas delivered by ship back into gas and feeds it into the grid. The second FSRU intended for Mukran is the "Neptune", which has been used as a terminal in Lubmin since the beginning of 2023.
According to Deutsche Regas, the "Neptune" will continue to feed into the grid in Lubmin until the end of the current heating period. She is due to leave Lubmin around April, undergo maintenance and refitting in a shipyard and be stationed in Mukran in the summer. According to Deutsche Regas, such plans also depend on the weather.
So far, the "Neptune" has not been able to take the LNG directly from large tankers. Instead, it has to be transferred to smaller tankers and transported through the relatively shallow Greifswald Bodden. The elimination of this shuttle traffic and the stationing of two FSRUs should allow more LNG to be landed in Western Pomerania than before.
In order for the terminal on the coast of Rügen to commence operations, a permit under immission control law is still required. The process is still ongoing.
In response to Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, the German government had pushed for the development of its own LNG import infrastructure. Several LNG terminals have now been built. However, their share of Germany's total gas imports is low, with Lubmin being the terminal with the lowest feed-in of the terminals already in operation.
Critics see the Rügen terminal as a threat to the environment and tourism and speak of unneeded overcapacity. The federal government, on the other hand, considers it necessary in terms of energy supply security.
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- The LNG terminal in Mukran, located on Rügen's coast, is expected to receive its first terminal ship within the first few weeks of next year, as announced by Deutsche Regas.
- Gascade, the gas network operator, is actively working on completing the connection from Mukran to the mainland as soon as possible, with weather conditions being a major factor in the completion of the pipeline sections at sea.
- The second Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) intended for Mukran is the "Neptune," currently stationed in Lubmin and set to transition to Mukran after maintenance and refitting, potentially in the summer.
- The "Transgas Power," an FSRU, is scheduled to arrive in Mukran after its current sailing off the coast of the USA, transforming liquefied natural gas back into gas for feed into the grid.
- The plans for the FSRUs contribute to reducing shuttle traffic and allowing for larger LNG landings in Western Pomerania than before, contributing to Germany's energy security while undergoing the approval process under immission control law for the Mukran terminal.
Source: www.stern.de
