HEH invites interest for Stade LNG plant
Hanseatic Energy Hub (HEH) has invited expressions of interest in capacity bookings at its planned Stade LNG plant in north Germany, following Berlin's embrace of LNG imports as a means of weaning itself off Russian gas.
Market participants can express their interest in booking long-term capacity at the 12bn m3/year facility between March 21 and April 8, 2022, HEH said in a statement on March 21. HEH held the non-binding phase for capacity interest at the terminal in February 2021, and it said the results confirmed sufficient market interest. But it has repeatedly delayed staging a binding phase because of market turbulence.
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Germany's government announced in late February it would embrace LNG as a means of reducing its reliance on Russia gas, days after putting the certification process for Gazprom's Nord Stream 2 pipeline project on hold. But while the government said it would support the construction of rival projects in Brunsbuettel and Wilhelmshaven, it made no mention of HEH's development in Stade.
HEH said it was pushing ahead with the permitting process for Stade LNG, which it estimated could cover around 10% of German gas demand. It expects permit documents for the terminal and port to be submitted before easter. The facility would be able to receive low-carbon gas such as bio-LNG and synthetic methane, in addition to conventionally extracted methane, HEH, and at a later point could also bring ashore climate neutral ammonia, which serves as a carrier for hydrogen energy.
"The interest in the future German LNG market is increasingly strong," HEH's managing partner Johann Killinger said. "With the expression of interest process starting today, we are creating the foundation to quickly carry out the binding open season process. We have done our homework, and with our strong partners we are ready to make our contribution to the diversification of German energy imports."
HEH's partners in the venture include Belgium's Fluxys and Partners Group, a global private markets firm with $127bn under management, as well as Hamburg-based Buss Group, which is involved in the port, global shipping and wind energy sectors.