LNG terminal in Stade apparently on the brink of collapse
One of four state-owned LNG terminals was to be built in Stade. However, the state operator and its local partner have now fallen out.
Arrival of the FSRU in Stade in March 2024: The special ship was to become the heart of the floating LNG terminal there.
(Image: DET)
The commissioning of a floating liquefied natural gas terminal in Stade, Lower Saxony, has moved into the distant future. An open dispute has arisen between the federally owned Deutsche Energy Terminal GmbH as operator and the Hanseatic Energy Hub (HEH) as partner and service provider, in the course of which both sides have terminated the contracts. It is currently completely unclear how the LNG project will continue.
There are considerable differences of opinion between the companies regarding HEH's contribution to the floating terminal. In an interview with heise online, a spokesperson for HEH explained that her company had fully complied with its obligations to build the so-called superstructure. The connection between the shore connection and the special ship, which had been approved by the responsible trade supervisory office, could have started trial operation long ago. However, instead of the agreed sum being transferred, HEH, which is currently building a land-based terminal in parallel, received a notice of termination from the state-owned company. HEH responded by terminating the contract itself – due to a loss of trust. HEH's shareholders are the Buss Group, the Partners Group, the Enagás Group and the Dow chemicals group.
Supervisory authority: Commissioning would be possible
According to a report in the Kreiszeitung newspaper, the responsible trade supervisory authority in Cuxhaven stated that there was nothing to prevent the terminal from being commissioned “from a licensing perspective”. However, documents from the operator, DET, were missing for a final review before commissioning, which are still not available today. According to industry insiders, this is one of the first projects for DET, which was only founded after 2022, where the company itself is responsible for commissioning.
DET described its view of the situation to Handelsblatt. In their opinion, HEH had not fulfilled its contractual obligations and had not been able to prove the technical completion of the plant. They therefore terminated the contract to avert growing financial damage. According to industry insiders, the amount involved is around 50 million euros.
Special ship lies unused off Denmark
The damage caused by the non-commissioning is likely to be much higher. For example, Germany chartered the special ship “Energos Force”, which arrived in Stade last year in March and has not been used since. According to Marine Traffic, the ship is currently lying in the roadstead off the northern tip of Denmark. HEH, DET and the Federal Ministry of Economics are currently in talks about how to proceed with the Stade site, according to HEH.
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Stade was to become one of DET's four LNG terminals, where liquefied natural gas is landed. Starting with Wilhelmshaven, the German government quickly set up alternatives for natural gas supplies after the German-Russian pipeline Nord Stream 1 was initially shut down by Russia as a result of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and international disagreements and then destroyed by an act of sabotage.
The LNG terminals were intended to ensure price stability as well as security of supply. So far, terminals in Wilhelmshaven and BrunsbĂĽttel are in operation. A second terminal in Wilhelmshaven has been under construction for some time, but has also been delayed.
(mki)
