LNG

Deutsche Regas GmbH, the operator of the floating liquefied natural gas import terminal at the Baltic Sea port of Lubmin, is now making more progress on meeting operational standards at the company’s second German Baltic regasification terminal, located at the port of Mukran on Germany’s largest island of Rügen.

The floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) “Energos Power” docked at Mukran on the tourist island of Rügen on February 24.

The second German Baltic Sea received the emission control and water law permits on April 10 for the operation of the terminal under the jurisdiction of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Targets

“We have now been able to install all of the currently planned expansion stages for further noise-reducing measures on the ‘FSRU Energos Power’ vessel,” explained Deutsche Regas.

“They make a noticeable contribution to further reducing noise emissions from the FSRU,” stated Deutsche Regas.

The company noted that an independent assessor's office continues to measure and ongoing noise emissions in the area of the Mukran industrial port.

“These measurements are determining the comprehensive effectiveness of the noise reduction,” added Deutsche Regas.

“They also confirm that all legal limit values ​​were adhered to at all times and throughout the entire trial operation,” the company said.

“By installing the noise-reducing measures, we would like to keep possible exposure for all residents, for all our neighbours and our neighbours in the area of ​​the Mukran industrial port as low as possible,” stated Deutsche Regas.

Regas vessel

The “Energos Power” is 300 metres in length and is part of a plan to provide adequate natural gas to replace pipeline gas previously received from Russia’s Gazprom.

The FSRU “Energos Power” with 174,000 cubic metres capacity had formerly been called the “Transgas Power”.

The Mukran floating LNG operations include a 50 kilometres (31 miles) pipeline that will transport the regasified LNG to the mainland and into the German gas grid.

Deutsche ReGas has cooperated on the project with German Transmission System Operator, Gascade GmbH.

Gascade has been overseeing connections to gas grids in the rest of Germany and the European Union via the North European Natural Gas Pipeline (NEL), the Ostsee-Pipeline-Anbindungsleitung (OPAL) and the European Gas Pipeline Link (EUGAL).

The energy terminal will feed up to 13.5 billion cubic metres of gas annually into the EUGAL/OPAL and NEL gas pipeline network, the most important gas supply lines in eastern Germany.

Deutsche Regas GmbH, the operator of the floating liquefied natural gas import terminal at the Baltic Sea port of Lubmin, said operating permits had been received at the company’s second German Baltic regasification terminal, located at the port of Mukran on Germany’s largest island of Rügen to allow operations to formally begin.

The German Association of Transmission System Operators (FNB Gas) said that members were seeking more capacity reservations and capacity expansion for pipelines as well as more sector benefits from imported and regasified LNG and from power plants in accordance with the new gas industry framework for Germany.

Deutsche ReGas GmbH, a private company running the floating LNG import project at the German Baltic port of Lubmin to supply 4.5 million tonnes per annum of cargoes, has started a series of complex operations using a variety of vessels as part of its commissioning process.

The port of Lubmin in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is best known as the landfall for the shutdown Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea from Russia.

Lubmin has been chosen by the German Federal Government as one of four coastal hubs for LNG floating storage and regasification (FSRU) imports because of existing German gas grid links.

Deutsche ReGas said that in the first phase of its project the natural gas would be fed into the German long-distance gas pipeline network (EUGAL/NEL), which is only 450 metres away.

The EUGAL gas pipeline was designed to be the onshore extension of the Nord Stream II project that was never started up.

The company also explained that to take account of the shallow depth of the water around the port of Lubmin, another tanker would be stationed outside the shallower approaches to which LNG carriers of up to 170,000 cubic metres would be able to dock and make LNG transfers.

The company explained that from the floating storage unit, three shuttle ships (small LNG carriers) would transport the LNG to the FSRU in the Lubmin industrial port.

Small carriers

The small-scale LNG carrier, the “Coral Furcata” with 10,000 cubic metres capacity arrived at Lubmin on December 30 with the first cargo to be used for commissioning purposes.

“The LNG was previously picked up by the ‘Hispania’, anchored off Rügen, and will now be handed over to the ‘Neptune’, which is in the port, as part of the permitted test operations of the LNG terminal,” explained Deutsche ReGas.

“The test operation is very extensive and complex,” stated the company.

“At sea, the procedures between the FSU anchored off Rügen island and the small-scale LNG carriers must be rehearsed,” it added.

“The manoeuvring of the SLNGCs in the port of Lubmin and the interaction with the tug crews must now also become a reality after previous training,” said Deutsche ReGas.

The company added that the interfaces between the FSRU and the shore connection as well as the FSRU and the shuttle ship must be further prepared and tested.

“During this phase on the ‘Neptune’, all of the processes and systems required for commissioning must be prepared. This is then followed by various operational tests, which usually end with a reliability and endurance test of the feed pumps,” the company said.

Deutsche ReGas said that as part of the test operations, the first quantities of LNG are being regasified and supplied to the German network operator Gascade GmbH.

“But we don't want to call this a feed-in, so as not to build up false expectations here,” the company emphasized.

Stephan Knabe, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche ReGas, said he would like to state that the feed-in, i.e. commercial operation, only begins with the start of regular operations immediately after the successful completion of the test phase and after receipt of the operating permit.