The first regasification plant in Germany, anchored in the northern port of Wilhemshaven, began this Thursday to distribute gas to the network, and will thus contribute to supplying energy to the largest economy in Europe after the Russian gas cut -on which it depended- derived from the war in Ukraine. The terminal, which is called Höegh Esperanza, is a ship of the so-called FSRU (Floating Storage and Regasification Unit) for the treatment of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and was inaugurated on Saturday by Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz, and the Ministers of Economy, Robert Habeck, and Finance, Christian Lindner.
The ship moored last week in the port of Wilhemshaven, on the North Sea coast, coming from Spain, where it had loaded 167,000 cubic meters of Nigerian gas that has now begun to flow through the German network. According to the Uniper company, the largest gas importer in the country – which precisely this Thursday was nationalized by the Government, as planned and after the EU gave the go-ahead – that amount is enough for annual consumption of between 50,000 and 80,000 homes. The charge was carried out at the Sagunto regasification plant, a key Spanish energy infrastructure due to its location in the Mediterranean arc and its proximity to producing countries in Africa and the Middle East.
LNG is natural gas that is liquefied by cooling it to -160°C, and in that state it occupies only 1/600 of the volume of natural gas, making it easy to transport in special ships. Once reheated, it returns to its gaseous state and is injected into gas pipeline networks. After this first cargo, the Höegh Esperanza will no longer transport LNG to Wilhelmshaven, but she will remain moored and regasify the deliveries she receives. It is expected that it will transport 5,000 million cubic meters per year, which would mean 6% of gas consumption in Germany.
Unlike other European countries, Germany did not have any regasification terminal on its territory that would allow it to import LNG transported by sea, having relied entirely on Russian gas that it received through the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea, which came to represent 55% of your purchases. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the cut off of Russian gas after months of energy blackmail from Putin, Germany has sought other supply routes, thus increasing the import of liquefied gas through Belgian, Dutch and French ports.
Finally, he decided to invest public money in building regasification plants. The infrastructure in the port of Wilhelmshaven – chosen for its deep waters – began to be built last May. Germany plans to build another five more terminals. The group of the six regasification plants should provide more than 25,000 million cubic meters a year, that is, a third of Germany's gas needs thinking about the winter of 2023-2024, and allaying fears of a fuel shortage.
