First floating gas terminal for LNG imports to supply to German gas grid “even before Christmas,” says Uniper
Uniper said commissioning of the new terminal was undertaken just two days after announcing the arrival of the Höegh Esperanza FSRU in Wilhelmshaven.
Höegh LNG signed a binding 10-year time charter contract with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate for the 170,000-m3 FSRU vessel on delivery. The FSRU is expected to supply an annual volume of at least 5 Bn cubic meters of natural gas into the German long-distance gas grid. The volume represents around 6% of Germany’s annual gas consumption, and according to Uniper, will replace about 11% of Germany’s gas imports from Russia.
Höegh issupplyingtwo 170,000-m3 FSRUs in Germany, Höegh Esperanza at Wilhelmshaven and another at Brunsbüttel to make the country’s first LNG import hubs viable. Earlier in December, commodities trader Trafigura secured US$3Bn in LNG supplies from American suppliers which will make its way into the German gas grid as part of a four-year loan deal between Trafigura, the German Government and more than 25 banks including Deutsche Bank.
Since Russia began its war against Ukraine in early 2022 and the ensuing energy market proxy wars between Western nations and Russia, the German Government has spent nearly US$500Bn on actions to replace lost gas volumes previously provided by Russia-owned suppliers and reset its energy markets.
The latest move by the German federal government has been to agree to nationalise Uniper as part of the largest corporate bailout in the country’s history.
According to Reuters reporting, confirmed by Uniper, Germany will take on US$230Bn of Uniper’s gas trading market derivatives after the company posted a nearly US$40Bn loss for the first nine months of 2022 in its Q3 results. Uniper has said it expects the losses, tied to Russia ceasing to deliver future gas volumes, to continue until the end of 2024. In June, Germany promised a rescue package for Uniper, which effectively saw the German state take over Uniper’s Finnish parent company Fortum.
