Deutsche Energy Terminal to take charge of LNG infrastructure in Brunsbüttel

December 27, 2023, by Aida Čučuk

On January 1, 2024, German energy operator RWE will hand over the LNG infrastructure built in Brunsbüttel to the federally-owned operator Deutsche Energy Terminal (DET), around ten months after the first LNG import flow.

DET is the authorized operator of the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) terminal in Brunsbüttel, Hoegh Gannet, and is also responsible for its capacity marketing.

RWE chartered the floating LNG terminal on behalf of the German government in 2022 and built the corresponding infrastructure in Brunsbüttel.

The aim was to strengthen Germany’s security of supply and reduce its dependence on Russian pipeline gas, RWE said.

Since the beginning of 2023, LNG has been imported directly to Germany via Brunsbüttel.

In October 2023, DET, which is responsible for the marketing and operation of four LNG terminals (FSRU) on the German North Sea coast, marketed the regasification capacities of the terminals in digital auction rounds.

On a total of six marketing days, from October 16-19 and October 23-26, 2023, the market participants were able to purchase time slots for the use of regasification capacities in the period from April to December 2024 at the Brunsbüttel and Wilhelmshaven 1 sites.

For all four DET terminals, long-term capacity auctions with terms of more than one year are planned for April 2024.

DET holds capacity allocation auctions for German North Sea coast terminals

To remind, in July 2023, the European Commission (EC) approved a €40 million German support measure for the construction and operation of a new land-based LNG terminal in Brunsbüttel which will replace the FSRU currently operating at the site.

The terminal with an annual capacity of 10 billion cubic meters will comprise import, storage, and distribution facilities, and it is planned to start operating by the end of 2026.