Dutch companies Gasunie and Vopak and Germany’s Oiltanking are in the process of establishing the joint venture named German LNG Terminal.
The purpose of the joint venture is to build, own and operate an LNG import terminal in northern Germany that will also provide LNG distribution services, a Vopak statement reads.
To attract interest from the market and to gain detailed insight in customer demand, the joint venture intends to launch an open season starting January 17.
The terminal offers the opportunity to further diversify Germany’s sources of gas supply and facilitates access to LNG as an alternative low-emission fuel for ships and trucks, the statement said.
The development of the LNG facility is currently focusing on the location Brunsbüttel. The presence of the adjacent port of Hamburg and the industrial companies located in the region represents an attractive business environment, it said.
Via the Kiel Canal, in the direct proximity of the intended terminal, the Scandinavian countries and the Baltic States can easily be reached.
The start of the open season marks an important milestone in the development of Germany’s first LNG terminal. The aim of the facility is to provide discharge and loading of LNG ships, storage of LNG, regasification and send out into the natural gas network and LNG distribution via trucks and barges.
In July 2017, the three companies received EU antitrust approval to establish a joint venture.
Subject to, among others, the outcome of the open season start of construction of Germany’s first LNG terminal is envisaged after final investment decision in 2019, to be ready for operations in the fourth quarter 2022, the statement said.