Höegh LNG and Germany firm up second 10-year FSRU charter deal

Norwegian shipowner Höegh LNG has signed its second binding time charter contract with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) for the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU).

Under the 10-year contract, FSRU Höegh Gannet will be allocated to the new liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Brunsbüttel operated by the newly-launched Deutsche Energy Terminal GmbH.

The Elbehafen LNG project in Brunsbüttel is developed by RWE and its subsidiary Elbehafen LNG in close cooperation with Höegh LNG.

“We are proud to sign the second contract with the Federal Government of Germany for the new LNG import terminal in Brunsbüttel and look forward to starting operations together with RWE and the other partners”, said Erik Nyheim, President & CEO of Höegh LNG.

To remind, the German government first announced its intention to charter FSRUs on 5 May 2022 as one of the first big steps to cut the country’s dependence on Russian gas.

At the time, Robert Habeck, Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, signed deals with Höegh LNG and Dynagas to charter two units from each company.

As of early 2023, three of Höegh LNG’s FSRUs are located in Germany. The Höegh Esperanza is in Wilhelmshaven, serving the country’s first LNG terminal.

The FSRU Neptune, which was chartered from French energy major TotalEnergies, is located in Lubmin and the Höegh Gannet will now be located in Brunsbüttel.

Collectively, they represent approximately 20 billion cubic metres (bcm) of annual regas capacity, potentially replacing a third of Russian pipeline gas imports.