LNG

The German Association of Transmission System Operators (FNB Gas) said the timetable has been set up for having a shared natural gas pipeline system with hydrogen in Germany's huge pipeline network.

The TSOs in Germany and regulated operators of gas and hydrogen transport networks are obliged by law to set up and operate the network in an equal and non-discriminatory manner.

“In order to fulfil this shared responsibility, the network operators have commissioned FNB Gas as a service provider to fulfil changeover legal tasks,” the FNB said.

The scenario framework for the first integrated gas and hydrogen network development plan is to be handed over to Germany’s Federal Network Agency on June 30, 2024.

The newly established coordination office for the integrated network development planning for gas and hydrogen (KO.NEP) has now officially begun work.

The task of the KO.NEP is to coordinate the future development of the gas and hydrogen system and to submit them to the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) every two years.

Central contact

“It acts as the central contact for authorities and market participants on network development planning issues in the areas of gas and hydrogen and is also responsible for the creation and operation of the legally required databases for the gas and hydrogen network,” the statement added.

FNB Gas Managing Director Barbara Fischer said the body had already gained valuable experience in coordinating gas network development planning.

“We have been supporting the development of the hydrogen core network with great commitment for over a year,” explained Fischer.

“We will bring this knowledge about the processes and content of network planning in both areas into the new coordination office,” she added.

“We have put together a competent team to carry out the coordination office’s tasks,” Fischer stated.

FNB Gas has also previously outlined the future role of LNG import facilities at the coastal locations of the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven, at Brunsbüttel on the Elbe and at the Baltic ports of Lubmin and Mukran.

Members

FNB Gas, which comes from the German words Fernleitungsnetzbetreiber, groups a dozen companies overseeing 40,000 kilometres (25,000 miles) of natural gas pipeline flows and other infrastructure.

Members of FNB Gas are the following TSOs: bayernets GmbH, Ferngas Netzgesellschaft GmbH, Fluxys TENP GmbH, Gascade Gastransport GmbH, Gastransport Nord GmbH, Gasunie Deutschland Transport Services GmbH, GRTgaz Deutschland GmbH, Nowega GmbH, ONTRAS Gastransport GmbH, Open Grid Europe GmbH, Terranets BW GmbH and Thyssengas GmbH.

Uniper, the German utility almost brought down by the stoppage of pipeline natural gas supplies from Russia’s Gazprom and which is now importing LNG at Germany’s North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven, has suffered another setback by having to pay €550 ($602M) to a European LNG player after an arbitration ruling.

The Düsseldorf-based company, which had to receive a stabilization package from the German Federal government in 2022 to survive and reported net losses of €19 billion ($20.4Bln) in its most recent annual earnings, said the ruling came from an arbitration court over a contract concluded prior to the group’s spin-off in 2016.

Uniper said that the arbitration proceedings, under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce, began in early 2021 and related to the pricing provisions of a long-term LNG supply agreement with an undisclosed counter-party.

Proceedings

“Uniper has been notified on 24 November 2023 of an award against a subsidiary in arbitration proceedings under the rules of the ICC which began in early 2021,” said the Uniper statement.

“The proceedings between the Uniper subsidiary and a European energy company relate, inter alia, to the pricing provisions of a long-term agreement for the supply of liquified natural gas (LNG), concluded prior to the spin-off of Uniper in 2016 and which has since expired,” Uniper explained.

“A payment to the opposing party of an estimated €550 million related to the retroactive re-pricing of the long-term agreement would be due under the terms of the award,” it added.

“The additional payment will have a full impact on the annual result of Uniper. Uniper is currently analyzing the reasoning of the decision and reviewing all possible avenues of legal recourse against the award,” stated the company.  

The 2017 report of the International Group of LNG Importers (GIIGNL) showed a 15-year contract under which Italian energy company Eni agreed to supply Uniper with 650,000 tonnes of LNG per annum between 2007 and 2022.

However, Milan-based Eni has so far declined to comment on the issue.

Uniper said in October 2023 that it expected adjusted earnings before interest and tax of between €6 billion to €7Bln and adjusted net profit of €4Bln to €5Bln.

Gazprom issues

Uniper was spun from German utility E.ON in 2016 and has also been involved in lawsuits against Gazprom, the former supplier of pipeline natural gas to Germany. At the time Uniper was under the control of the new owner, the Finnish power company Fortum.

However, Uniper was then formally taken over from Fortum in December 2022 in a deal with the German State that had included clearances from the European Commission to save Uniper from collapse.

Uniper itself had launched legal proceedings in 2022 against Gazprom which first cut and later suspended deliveries, sending Uniper into crisis.

Uniper’s bad luck was compounded in 2022 as it was also a buyer of LNG cargoes from the US Freeport LNG plant in Texas closed for part of 2022 and early 2023 by the June 8 fire.

The Wilhelmshaven LNG terminal commenced regular operations in March 2023, using the floating storage and regasification unit, the “Höegh Esperanza”.

The facility was developed by Uniper in record time and became the first German LNG import terminal to start operations on December 21, 2022, initially in trials. 

Nov 23 (LNGJ) - The UK and Germany are set for US LNG deliveries over the next few days. The vessel “MOL Hestia” with 170,800 cubic metres capacity is scheduled to discharge a US cargo on November 24 at the UK South Hook terminal in the Port of Milford Haven in Wales. The shipment was lifted on November 3 from the Sabine Pass export plant in Louisiana, according to shipping data.

   One other US cargo is heading for the German North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven and is due to berth on November 26. The carrier “Maran Gas Amorgos” with 170,800 cubic metres capacity loaded the cargo on November 12 at the Calcasieu Pass plant near Lake Charles in Louisiana.

Trading Hub Europe GmbH, Germany’s market area manager for the nation’s natural gas system and now including deliveries to three LNG import destinations, has issued its latest report on the calculation basis for accounting charges and liquidity buffers in the German natural gas market.

Uniper, the German utility almost brought down by the stoppage of pipeline natural gas supplies from Russia’s Gazprom and which is now importing LNG at Germany’s North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven, said it was considering the legal implications of the seizure of its assets in Russia.

Jan 12 (LNGJ) - Two LNG cargoes are scheduled to arrive in Germany before the end of January, according to shipping data. Both shipments are headed for the floating LNG import terminal at the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven and are expected to berth on January 22 and January 30.

   One shipment is scheduled to arrive on the 174,100 cubic metres capacity “Diamond Gas Victoria” after being lifted from the Cameron LNG export plant in Louisiana on January 7. A second shipment is headed for Wilhelmshaven from Angola in southwest Africa on board the 154,950 cubic metres capacity vessel “Malanje” . The Angolan shipment was lifted on January 11.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the German Parliament, the Bundestag, that the nation’s first floating liquefied natural gas terminal was ready for operations and the first LNG carrier would arrive on December 17 at the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven.

German utility Uniper, which has had to be bailed out by the German Government, said it expected the first floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) planned for the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven to come on line before the year-end.

Many German companies in the manufacturing sector have been cutting back on natural gas with only minor restrictions on production, though they will face more difficulties in the future as gas prices surged and a new survey outlined possible problems.

The German Federal Ministry of Economics has rejected claims that the natural gas reserves for the coming winter were bought at too high a price as the nation prepares to become an LNG importer with expectations of the first facility coming on stream in 2023.