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.

Deutsche Regas GmbH, the operator of the floating liquefied natural gas import terminal at the Baltic Sea port of Lubmin, said a vessel carrying LNG for a second German Baltic regasification terminal had arrived at the port of Mukran on Germany’s largest island of Rügen to begin commissioning.

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

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.

Deutsche Regas said the “Energos Power” with 174,000 cubic metres capacity had formerly been called the “Transgas Power” and was carrying LNG sourced from Equinor’s liquefaction plant at Hammerfest in northern Norway.

Pipeline to mainland

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.

“As promised, we will begin transferring natural gas from Mukran to Germany's gas transmission network with the ‘Energos Power’ FSRU,” said Deutsche ReGas Chief Executive Stephan Knabe.

“I would like to thank everyone involved, our partner companies and especially our employees for the tireless work and close and constructive cooperation on the project,” Knabe added.

“The ‘Energos Power’ will now enable trial operations to test all land and seaborne systems and to make them all fully operational,” the CEO stated.

The project was also praised as positive for Germany by the Social Democrat (SPD) Commissioner for eastern Germany, Carsten Schneider. He said the floating LNG project was an energy bonus for the Baltic Coast region of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

“The Rügen terminal will guarantee Germany's energy independence as well as that of numerous companies,” Carsten explained about the Mukran project that had overcome opposition from environmental activists opposed to fossil fuels.

Opposition

German environmental groups such as Environmental Action Germany (DUH) had accused Deutsche Regas of turning the popular holiday island of Rügen into a “fossil fuel” energy park.

Opponents had fought the Mukran project for more than a year, arguing that Germany's strategic natural gas reserves were already secured with other LNG import terminals.

Currently, other FSRUs are operating at nearby Lubmin, at the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven and at Brunsbüttel on the Elbe and with a fifth proposed for the port of Stade, also located on the Elbe between Hamburg and Cuxhaven.

Deutsche Regas noted that by mid-year 2024 the FSRU “Neptune” currently deployed at Lubmin would be moved to Mukran to operate alongside the “Energos Power”.

FSRUs in Germany

The other vessels involved in German FLNG projects so far include the Höegh LNG FSRUs “Höegh Esperanza” at Wilhelmshaven and “Hoegh Gannet” at Brunsbüttel as well as the “Neptune”, partly owned by Höegh LNG and chartered to TotalEnergies, and currently operating at the port of Lubmin.

Another ship, a floating storage unit (FSU), the “Seapeak Hispania”, was also anchored near Lubmin to transfer cargoes to the “Neptune” via small-scale LNG carriers.

The Brunsbüttel FSRU is part of LNG operations run by RWE as a forerunner to an onshore terminal being developed by Dutch utility Gasunie, RWE and with a stake held by a German state bank.