Uniper receives Germany's first LNG cargo
Uniper announced on January 3 it had received Germany's first cargo of LNG at its terminal in Wilhelmshaven, as the country pushes to sever its reliance on Russian pipeline supply.
The 170,000-m3 cargo was delivered by the Maria Energy LNG carrier, representing enough natural gas to supply around 50,000 German households for a year. It came from Venture Global's Calcasieu Pass liquefaction terminal in Louisiana, US.
The delivery will help commission the Wilhelmshaven terminal, which is due to start commercial operations in the middle of this month. The terminal has a regasification capacity of 5bn m3/year.
"The use of LNG as a reliable energy source is crucial for the security of supply for Germany and Europe," Uniper COO Niek den Hollander said in a statement. "We are committed to contribute our part by bringing more LNG to the European market and especially Germany via the Wilhelmshaven and Brunsbuttel regas terminals."
Germany, once the single largest market for Russian gas, is scrambling to develop LNG import infrastructure in the wake of Gazprom's drastic cuts to supply since Moscow launched its war in Ukraine in February last year.
The Wilhelmshaven terminal hosts a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), and a second is due to arrive in the fourth quarter of this year. Additional LNG terminals are due to be established in Germany in Lubmin, Brunsbuettel and Stade.