Page 16 - GLNG Week 01 2023

GLNG EUROPE GLNG

Germany receives its first

shipment of US LNG at

newly opened terminal

SHIPPING THE first shipment of US liquefied natural gas October 2022, a figure set to rise to 50 bcm in
(LNG) has arrived in Germany at the Wilhelms- 2023.
haven terminal, according to German energy Uniper started a legal action against Russian
firm Uniper, Vedomosti reported on January 3. natural gas giant Gazprom in the Stockholm
The supplier was US company Venture Arbitration Court in December for violation of
Global Calcasieu Pass, which sent 97.1mn cubic a gas supplies contract, claiming that failed gas
metres of natural gas, enough to power around deliveries had caused the company €11.6bn of
50,000 German households for a year. damages through it having to replace missing
Until the war in Ukraine started German had gas on the spot market.
no LNG terminals and was entirely reliant on Seaborne LNG deliveries to European des-
Russian piped gas imports. Following the start tinations, including Turkey, eased 1% week on
of the war, Berlin rushed through plans to build week to 3.8 bcm in the last week of December but
five large terminals to diversify supplies of gas are on track to hit a record monthly high, Kpler
at Wilhelmshaven (two terminals), Brunsbüttel, ship tracking data showed on December 27.
Stade and Lubmin. Around 50 vessels, carrying almost 4.7 bcm,
In the meantime Germany has leased three were in transit or waiting to discharge at Euro-
floating terminals, the first of which came online pean ports as the year came to an end, although
on December 17, Euractiv reported. The three the final destinations and volumes could change,
terminals have a capacity of 13bn cubic metres Kpler said.
a year, less than the 50 bcm German imported More than 16.3 bcm of LNG were imported
from Russia pre-war. in December, or 4.2 bcm per week, almost 11%
In the coming winter, Germany will be capa- higher than the same period in November.
ble of importing some 32 bcm, according to the Europe’s LNG supply in December is set to
terminal’s declared regasification capacity. Inter- exceed 19 bcm, smashing the previous record of
nal government documents assess a peak capac- 16.1 bcm seen in November, as the region ramps
ity of 44.5 bcm. Some critics worry that with four up its replacement of Russian pipeline supply
onshore LNG terminals under construction and looks to keep the storage tanks as full as pos-
Germany faces the danger of LNG overcapacity sible in anticipation of a repeat energy crisis in
once the onshore LNG terminals are completed. this year’s heating season.
Uniper recently asked the German State The volume of LNG floating off European
Development Bank to extend its credit line by shores tumbled to its lowest since August in
an additional €4bn ($4.8bn) after using up the December, with 0.35 bcm floating in four vessels
previous €9bn loan to finance the LNG import that have waited for at least five days, according
trade. to Kpler data. Meanwhile, Freeport, the sec-
The company has been losing more than ond biggest LNG export terminal in the US,
€100mn daily due to reduced Gazprom sup- delayed its restart following last year’s accident
plies and rising gas prices in Europe, resulting by another month to mid-January at the earli-
in a record first-half loss of €12.4bn in 2022 est, operator Freeport LNG said at the end of
that led to a massive government bailout for the December. Freeport exports some 20 bcm per
company. year, much of which goes to Europe.
The top 40 fuel and energy corporations in European LNG storage levels jumped in the
the US, Canada and Europe are set to earn more last week of the year and were at 72% of capacity
than $3.6 trillion in 2022, a 48% increase on by New Year’s Eve, Gas Infrastructure Europe
2021’s $2.4 trillion. In November, the US sup- data showed.™
plied 48 bcm of LNG to the EU from January to

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