Construction Begins on First German Floating LNG Terminal

Germany’s Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck was personally on hand in the northern city of Wilhelmshaven as work commenced on the country’s first-ever liquid natural gas (LNG) terminal. Construction has been predicted to take until between the end of the year and ten months.

The terminal is one of four foreseen by the German government in its high-priority attempts to reduce dependence on natural gas and other fuels from Russia. Nearly EUR three billion have been set aside for the initiative, according to ministry documents. Habeck told regional public broadcaster NDR that the terminals are crucial to ensuring Germany’s energy supply security.

“We have a good chance to do what is normally impossible in Germany: to build an LNG terminal within about 10 months and connect it to the German gas grid,” said the minister.

A variety of northern German sites could serve as locations for the other terminals, including Germany’s second-largest city Hamburg. Hamburg mayor Peter Teschentscher told Welt newspaper that a facility there could process eight billion cubic meters of gas a year.

The Wilhelmshaven terminal will center around a 370-meter dock. An 18-kilometer pipeline will also be required to link the facility with the gas network.