LNG terminal on Germany's Rügen to enter regular operation in May

Berlin, April 19 (CTK) – The floating terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) near the German island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea will enter regular operation by mid-May at the latest. That is the plan of Deutsche ReGas, which already operates a floating terminal in Lubmin as a wholly private project. The Czech Republic is interested in the Baltic terminal, as it is connected to the region by gas pipelines.

The Energos Power floating storage and regasification unit for liquefied gas has been in trial operation at the port of Mukran on Rügen since March, on behalf of the state. These specialised vessels are known by the English acronym FSRU (Floating Storage and Regasification Unit). ReGas, which obtained the necessary operating permits in early April, aims to begin regular operation by May 15. The terminal, called Deutsche Ostsee (German Baltic Sea), is then expected to reach full capacity by the summer.

„The Deutsche Ostsee energy terminal will become a cornerstone of Germany's energy supply,“ ReGas CEO Ingo Wagner said in a press release.

Company supervisory board chairman Stephan Knabe noted that this is the first time a private company has managed to build two terminals at different locations in just two years.

ReGas already operates a floating terminal at the mainland Baltic port of Lubmin, but that project is entirely private. In the summer, ReGas plans to move its specialised LNG regasification vessel from Lubmin to Mukran, where it will operate alongside the Energos Power floating unit. The Rügen terminal's total annual capacity will therefore be 13.5 billion cubic metres of gas, equivalent to 15 percent of Germany's annual consumption.

Mukran is connected to the mainland by an undersea gas pipeline that ends in Lubmin. From Lubmin, where the now-inactive German-Russian Nord Stream pipelines also come ashore, gas can be sent through the OPAL and NEL pipelines. OPAL carries gas to Saxony and from there to the Czech Republic via the Gazela pipeline. NEL connects Lubmin with Lower Saxony and Germany's main gas storage facility at Rehden.

Germany began building LNG terminals in 2022 in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The terminals have enabled the country to end its dependence on Russian gas. The federal government plans a total of five floating terminals with state participation. So far, two facilities have entered regular operation, in Wilhelmshaven in Lower Saxony and in Brunsbüttel in Schleswig-Holstein. The terminals in Mukran and Stade in Lower Saxony are still in trial operation. Another is being built in Wilhelmshaven, where it is expected to enter service in the second quarter of this year.

Alongside floating units, Germany is also building onshore LNG terminals which, once completed, will replace the capacity of the existing specialised liquefied gas regasification vessels and serve in future to import hydrogen as a substitute for gas. They will be built in Brunsbüttel, Wilhelmshaven and Stade, with completion scheduled for late 2026 or early 2027.

The facility at the port of Stade, on the Elbe not far from Hamburg, will be crucial for the Czech Republic. Capacity at the planned terminal has been fully booked since last year. The Czech Republic has secured two billion cubic metres of gas per year there, more than a quarter of its current consumption. The Czech Republic already has access to LNG capacity at Eemshaven in the Netherlands, where it has around three billion cubic metres of gas per year through 2027.