The terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) currently being built in Lubmin in western Pomerania has cleared another hurdle on the way to commissioning. The company Deutsche Regas announced on Saturday that the Federal Network Agency had released it from tariff and network access regulations. Without exemption, operators would not be able to freely set tariffs and access rules for their terminals. An exemption is possible if, for example, competition in the gas supply and security of supply are improved, it said. In addition, the economic operation of the terminal is secured.
Deutsche Regas intends to put a floating LNG terminal into operation in Lubmin at the beginning of December. The head of the supervisory board, Stephan Knabe, recently said that the company was technically ready for December 1st. However, approval from the responsible state office is still pending.
In a first expansion stage, up to 5.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas are to be fed into Lubmin. According to plans by Deutsche Regas, this capacity is then to be expanded. When replacing Russian pipeline gas, Germany relies, among other things, on liquefied natural gas delivered by ship and is building several terminals for imports.
Knabe emphasized that another important prerequisite for rapid commissioning is now in place. The Federal Network Agency carried out the procedure much faster than in the past. According to Deutscher Regas, the exemption has already been granted for other LNG terminals. It is valid for 20 years and an annual feed-in of up to 13.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
The special ship required to convert the LNG into the gaseous state is currently on its way to Germany. Coming from Wales, the more than 280-meter-long “Neptune” was, according to ship tracking services on the Internet, early on Saturday afternoon in front of the northern Danish port of Skagen, where, according to earlier information from Deutsche Regas, among other things, it was supposed to drain fuel reserves that it no longer needed in Lubmin.
Decision of the Federal Network Agency The “Neptune” on marinetraffic.com The “Neptune” on vesselfinder.com
