German LNG To Challenge Decision
German LNG, the consortium seeking to develop a 5bn m3/yr import terminal at Brunsbuttel on the North Sea coast, is legally to challenge a decision by the regulator.
The network regulator (Bundesnetzagentur) said December 20 it had excluded a proposed gas pipe from a national network development plan; the pipe would connect the planned LNG project to the rest of the country's gas transmission system.
"We have held discussions with all relevant stakeholders and explained our legal understanding that this pipeline constitutes a needs-based expansion of the national gas grid which contributes to security of supply. We regret that the Bundesnetzagentur does not share our legal understanding of the issue. We will now take legal action," said German LNG Dec.20.
It took the regulator's decision "seriously as it not only impacts of the cost efficiency of the project in Brunsbuettel but also damages the prospects of all terminal projects in Germany." It could negatively impact LNG's use as a low-emission fuel, German LNG added, as well as negatively impact energy diversification in Germany and elsewhere, and so it expressed the hope that a positive solution can be found to create the best possible preconditions for the development of an LNG infrastructure in Germany.
Among projects green-lighted by the regulator is the giant Eugal onshore pipe that will enable Russian gas arriving via Nord-Stream 2 to access Germany and other European markets. Uniper is also looking to develop a floating LNG import terminal based at Wilhelmshaven in north Germany; that too would need a connection to the rest of the German gas system.