Energy - Share of LNG in gas imports remains low
To date, Germany has only handled a small proportion of its gas imports via the multi-billion euro infrastructure for liquefied natural gas (LNG). According to data from the Federal Network Agency, 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 to follow in Wilhelmshaven and on Rügen in 2024.
Hydrogen later too
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
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- Despite forecasting LNG import capacities of 13.5 billion cubic meters of gas for this year, only about 65.7 terawatt hours of LNG have been imported in Germany, representing a 7% share of its total gas imports.
- Kerstin Andreae, Chairwoman of the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), viewed the LNG terminals as an important building block for an independent and secure energy supply in Germany.
- The first LNG terminal in Germany to feed gas into the grid was the one in Wilhelmshaven, Lower Saxony, which contributed 42.6 terawatt hours between December 21, 2022, and the beginning of the analysis period.
- The German government pushed ahead with LNG imports due to their significance in securing Germany's energy supply, with Andrew expressing support for this decision given the tense energy market situation and the fresh memories of the winter gas shortage.
- According to BDEW data, Germany purchased the largest share of its LNG (84%) from the USA, where the gas is often extracted using the controversial fracking method.
- Two more floating LNG terminals are expected to be commissioned in Wilhelmshaven and on Rügen in 2024, in addition to the forthcoming LNG terminal in Stade, Lower Saxony.
- Besides the LNG terminals, stationary jetties are also planned in the future to facilitate the import of hydrogen produced in the most climate-friendly manner possible, yet critics fear that this infrastructure could result in more excess capacity for fossil fuels than necessary to replace previous Russian gas imports.
Source: www.stern.de
