Page 14 - EurOil Week 35

EurOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT EurOil

German oil imports fall in June

GERMANY GERMAN oil imports inched up 0.4% in the first Rosneft is the country’s third biggest oil refiner,
six months of 2020 from the year-earlier level, with a throughput capacity of 257,000 bpd from
The economic fallout but were down 1.6% in June, statistics published its stakes in three plants.
from the pandemic by the BAFA foreign exchange office shows. The second biggest source of supply was the
continues. Supplies arriving in Germany reached UK and Norwegian North Sea, while supplies
41.9mn tonnes (1.69mn barrels per day) in the from OPEC producers contributed 17.1%. Some
period, up from 41.7mn tonnes in the first half of oil also comes from the US and other suppliers.
2019. Imports between January and March were Germany paid €11.9bn ($14bn) for oil
in line with the level a year earlier but then coro- imports in January to June, 34.6% less than a
navirus (COVID-19) lockdowns were imposed, year earlier because of the collapse in prices. The
causing fuel demand to collapse. April volumes average cost per tonne at the border was €283.85
were down 11.3% year on year. per tonne ($45.8 per barrel).
Most restrictions have now been eased, German gas imports were down 2% in the
although the economic fallout from the pan- first half, amounting to 76.7bn cubic metres,
demic and efforts to stop its spread continue to according to BAFA. They were 8.5% less y/y in
weigh down on German oil demand. The Ger- June.
man economy contracted by an estimated 9.7% However, Germany’s import bill slumped
in the second quarter. Oil imports rebounded in 35.5% in the six-month period to €8.9bn,
May only to fall again in June. because of weak prices. Most of Germany’s gas
Russia accounted for almost 36% of German comes from Russia, Norway, the Netherlands,
oil receipts in the six months. It commands such the UK and Denmark via pipeline. The country
a large share in part because its state oil major lacks LNG import capacity. ™

Uniper invites bids for German

LNG import capacity

GERMANY GERMANY’S Uniper has invited binding offers Hub is hoping to advance another LNG project
for capacity at the 9.8bn cubic metre LNG regas- in Stade. The group announced on September
There are many ification terminal it plans to build in the port of 1 that the proposed import facility had gener-
LNG import plans in Wilhelmshaven. ated “significant market interest.” Hanseatic has
Germany, but none The project is expected to enter its next phase signed letters of intent (LoIs) with nine market
have reached an FID. on September 14, during which capacity will be players, and intends to launch an open season
awarded. Uniper launched the first, non-bind- for capacity by the end of the year.
ing phase of the auction back in May last year. The terminal, which it has been suggested
During this phase, it “already found great interest could import between 5 and 8 bcm per year of
among market players,” the company said. gas, will be sited at the Dow industrial park. In
The Wilhelmshaven terminal is one of several addition to supplying gas into the German grid,
LNG import projects underway in Germany, it will offer LNG for loading onto trucks and
which despite being Europe’s biggest gas market trains, providing access to customers without
does not have any regasification capacity. Uniper pipeline connections. The terminal, in close
said the terminal would help diversify German proximity to the port of Hamburg, will also offer
gas supply, the bulk of which comes from Russia. bunkering services. ™
The facility will consist of a floating storage
and regasification unit (FSRU) and a pipeline
connection to the national grid some 30 km
away. Uniper is hopeful that the project will start
operations within five years, but a final invest-
ment decision (FID) has not been taken yet.
The German government is currently review-
ing an environmental impact assessment for the
plan.
Meanwhile, private group Hanseatic Energy

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 35 03•September•2020