Report: Germany scales down LNG terminal plans

Germany will almost halve planned capacity for liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in the Baltic Sea, Reuters reported a government source as saying.

Two floating LNG terminals are to be sited at Mukran off the Rügen coast with an annual capacity of around 10 billion cubic metres (bcm), down from the 18 bcm previously planned, Reuters reported.

The news agency further said that Deutsche Regas will operate the floating stations in Rügen instead of utility RWE, adding that the German government would include the project in its LNG Acceleration Act that gives an overview of Berlin’s LNG infrastructure plans.

The news agency said the scale-down comes as Berlin revaluates its LNG needs given local resistance and an easing of energy bottlenecks.

To remind, last year, Germany pushed to accelerate the building of its LNG infrastructure. In just under a year, three floating terminals were built, granted permission and entered operation in the ports of Wilhelmshaven, Lubmin, and Brunsbüttel.

The Elbehafen LNG terminal in Brunsbüttel started its regular commercial operations this May.