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German Federal States — News — Federal network agency — Schleswig-Holstein — Mecklenburg-Vorpommern — kerstin andreae — Wilhelmshaven — Germany — Berlin — Federal government — Gas — Natural gas — BDEW — Lower Saxony — energy

Share of LNG in gas imports remains low

For the past year, Germany has also been relying on liquefied natural gas, or LNG for short, to secure its gas supply due to the war in Ukraine. Three import terminals are already in operation, with more to follow. But are they working to capacity?

,   and  Carmen Simpson
3 min read
The tanker "Maria Energy" (rear) loaded with liquefied natural gas is moored at the floating LNG....aussiedlerbote.de
The tanker "Maria Energy" (rear) loaded with liquefied natural gas is moored at the floating LNG terminal, the special ship "Höegh Esperanza". Photo.aussiedlerbote.de

Energy - Share of LNG in gas imports remains low

So far, only a small proportion of German gas imports have been transported via the billion-euro LNG infrastructure for importing liquefied natural gas. This is according to data from the Federal Network Agency. According to the data, around 65.7 terawatt hours of LNG were imported between the opening of the first German LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven a year ago and the beginning of December 2023. Germany's total gas imports during this period amounted to 933.4 terawatt hours. The LNG share is therefore 7 percent.

The German government had forecast LNG import capacities of 13.5 billion cubic meters of gas for this year. This corresponds to more than 130 terawatt hours, which is double the amount of LNG that has actually been imported to date. The traffic light coalition had pushed ahead with the import because the liquefied natural gas would make a significant contribution to securing Germany's energy supply.

"Even if we do not yet need to fully utilize the capacities of the LNG terminals, the terminals are an important building block for an independent and secure energy supply in Germany," said Kerstin Andreae, Chairwoman of the Executive Board of the German Association of Energy and Water Industries(BDEW). "We can currently obtain pipeline gas more cheaply. However, the situation on the energy markets is still tense. It is therefore important that we have the LNG terminals."

The impending gas shortage last winter is still fresh in people's minds, Andreae continued. The government had therefore acted well to avoid such situations as a precaution.

The LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven, Lower Saxony, was the first in Germany to feed gas into the grid on December 21, 2022. With a feed-in of 42.6 terawatt hours, it is also the most important German LNG terminal to date, according to data from Europe's gas infrastructure operators (GIE), to which the Federal Ministry of Economics also refers. According to the data, Brunsbüttel in Schleswig-Holstein has contributed 12.8 terawatt hours since the end of March. Since the end of April, a private terminal in Lubmin (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) has also contributed 6.7 terawatt hours.

A fourth LNG terminal will be handed over to the state of Lower Saxony and the operator in Stade on Saturday. Two more floating terminals are due to follow in Wilhelmshaven and on Rügen in 2024.

Stationary jetties are also planned in the future - also in order to be able to import hydrogen produced in the most climate-friendly way possible. However, critics fear that the LNG infrastructure will create more capacity for fossil fuels than would be necessary to replace the previous gas imports from Russia.

Germany imported the most gas this year, around 390 terawatt hours (TWh), from Norway, followed by the Netherlands (just under 232 TWh) and Belgium (just under 197 TWh). No more gas flowed directly to Germany from Russia due to the war in Ukraine.

According to the industry association BDEW, Germany purchased by far the largest share of LNG (84%) from the USA. There, the gas is often extracted using the controversial fracking method. However, according to BDEW, the origin of the individual tankers and the composition of the LNG transported cannot always be clearly determined.

Natural gas data from BDEW Federal Network Agency on gas imports LNG data from GIE

Read also:

  1. Despite expecting LNG import capacities of 13.5 billion cubic meters from the Federal Government, only 130 terawatt hours of LNG have been imported so far, according to the BDEW.
  2. The Federal Network Agency data shows that Germany imported approximately 65.7 terawatt hours of LNG between the opening of the Wilhelmshaven terminal and December 2023, making up 7% of the total gas imports.
  3. Kerstin Andreae, Chairwoman of the BDEW, emphasized that the LNG terminals are an essential part of a secure and independent energy supply in Germany, even when pipeline gas is more economical.
  4. Lower Saxony's LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven was the first to supply gas to the grid in December 2022, with a feed-in of 42.6 terawatt hours, the most significant contribution to LNG imports in Germany to date.
  5. The Federal Government plans to hand over a fourth LNG terminal to Lower Saxony and the operator in Stade on Saturday and invest in floating terminals in Wilhelmshaven and on Rügen in 2024.
  6. Controversy surrounds the LNG infrastructure's potential to accommodate more fossil fuel capacity than necessary for replacing Russian gas imports, with critics voicing concerns.

Source: www.stern.de

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