German section of the gas pipeline “Nord Stream – 2” can be repurposed to connect to a floating LNG terminal in the Baltic Sea. Such plans are being studied by the German Ministry of Economics, the German weekly Der Spiegel reported on Friday, June 24.
According to the plans, the section of the gas pipeline laid on German territory may be nationalized and disconnected from the rest of SP-2. A pipe leading from the shore to the sea connected to a floating LNG terminal. According to the publication, officials of the Ministry of Economy discussed this issue at a meeting with representatives of the Nord Stream 2 concern. The advantage of such a plan is that the gas pipeline is connected on the coast of Germany to a first-class distribution network with compressor stations and pipelines that can directly transport natural gas to the south of the country .
Lifting and disconnecting the gas pipeline is not technically difficult, Der Spiegel says, but it could pose environmental problems, according to experts. The gas pipeline is laid in a nature protection zone, so any work to change it will automatically lead to the need to conduct an environmental impact assessment.
The Kremlin does not comment on reports of the possible nationalization of SP-2
In Berlin, as the newspaper writes, citing sources in industrial circles, they are afraid of retaliatory measures by the Putin regime, for example, the expropriation of German companies in the Russian Federation. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov on Friday declined to comment on the message of Der Spiegel, saying that there was no point in “engaging in hypothetical reasoning.” According to him, this “publication cannot be the basis for any responsible statements.”
The Ministry of Economy of Germany also refused to comment on these plans, although they did not refute them. “We are looking for suitable locations for the LNG terminal, and the issue of infrastructure plays a significant role,” the ministry said in response to a request from the weekly.
Nord Stream 2 was never put into operation
The construction of a 1,234 km gas pipeline between Russian Ust-Luga and German Greifswald began in 2018. According to Gazprom, at the moment both lines of the pipeline are filled with gas and are ready for operation.
Following Russia’s recognition of the sovereignty of the so-called “Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the German government suspends project certification “Nord Stream – 2”.
And after the start of Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine, Germany announced its intention to get rid of its energy dependence on Russia as soon as possible. In addition, the issue of an embargo on imports of fossil fuels from the Russian Federation is currently being discussed at the EU level.
See also:
-
How the EU reduces dependence on Russian gas
Norway pumps to the maximum
The most important supplier of pipeline gas to the EU after Gazprom is the Norwegian state company Equinor. In 2022, it loaded its capacities to the maximum and even reduced the time for preventive maintenance. Pictured: Troll A, the world’s largest gas platform. Production and transport infrastructure at this giant North Sea oil and gas field will be expanded and modernized by autumn 2021.
-
How the EU reduces dependence on Russian gas
Algeria increases supplies to Italy
Undersea pipelines to Spain and Italy have made Algeria the third largest gas exporter to the EU. In April, a government delegation from Rome agreed with the President of Algeria on a significant increase in supplies. Following talks that month with Angola and the Republic of the Congo to import LNG, Italy said it would end dependence on Russian gas in about 18 months.
-
How the EU reduces dependence on Russian gas
Liquefied gas comes from all over the world
Thanks to gas liquefaction technology and ocean-going tankers, more and more countries are entering the global gas market. Today LNG (LNG) is produced on almost all continents. Until 2022, Japan, China, South Korea and other Asian countries were its main buyers, but a sharp price hike has increased the attractiveness of the European market. There are currently 26 LNG terminals in the EU, with the largest number in Spain.
-
How the EU reduces dependence on Russian gas
Germany to have 4 floating LNG terminals
On May 5, Uniper began building a berth for Germany’s first floating LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven. When Russia attacked Ukraine on February 24, Germany was the only major EU country without its own infrastructure to receive LNG tankers. But already in April, the government booked four regasification vessels. Two may enter service at the end of 2022, the other two by May 2023.
-
How the EU reduces dependence on Russian gas
Energy partnership with Qatar
Qatar is one of the top three LNG exporters after Australia and the US. However, in the coming years, this emirate may again become a world leader, as it is now investing in further development of the giant North / South Pars field in the Persian Gulf. In March, German Economy Minister Robert Habek agreed in Doha on a long-term energy partnership with Qatar.
-
How the EU reduces dependence on Russian gas
Berlin took up the empty UGS Rehden
The largest underground gas storage facility in Germany and in the entire EU, Rehden, has been virtually empty since the summer of 2021. Until April 2022, it belonged to Gazprom, but the Russian state concern tried, in violation of the law, to sell its subsidiary Gazprom Germania without the permission of the German government, after which it took control of all its assets until September 30 – and finally started filling this UGS.
-
How the EU reduces dependence on Russian gas
Balkans waiting for LNG terminal in Greece
The leaders of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and North Macedonia, together with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, launched the construction of a floating LNG terminal in the northern Greek port of Alexandroupoli on May 3. From the end of 2023, it will annually supply about 6 billion cubic meters of gas to all these countries. According to the plans of the project operator Gastrade, the second regasification unit will be able to supply Moldova and Ukraine.
-
How the EU reduces dependence on Russian gas
Trumpet for the independence of Bulgaria
In order for Bulgaria and other Balkan countries to receive fuel from Alexandroupolis and from the already operating TAP gas pipeline, through which Azerbaijani gas goes to the EU, an interconnector is needed – a connection with the Greek gas transport system. ICGB project with a capacity of up to 5 bcm m is delayed for 2 years, but in the summer Bulgaria, which Russia turned off the gas, will finally be able to use this pipe.
-
How the EU reduces dependence on Russian gas
Poland will switch to Baltic Pipe
At the end of April, Russia also cut off gas to Poland, but Warsaw was not going to renew the long-term contract with Gazprom that expires in December 2022. Since autumn, the same 10 billion cubic meters. m per year will be delivered via the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline from Norway through Denmark. The most difficult part of this project with the participation of the EU – laying pipes under the North and Baltic Seas – was completed at the end of 2021.
-
How the EU reduces dependence on Russian gas
Mutual gas assistance in the Baltic
On May 5, the Presidents of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, together with EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson, commissioned a 500-kilometer GIPL interconnector with a capacity of 2 billion cubic meters. m, connecting the Polish gas transmission system, connected to the German one, with the Lithuanian one. And it is connected with Latvian, Estonian and Finnish. This will ensure the prompt transfer of the required volumes of gas between countries in the northeast of the EU.
-
How the EU reduces dependence on Russian gas
Turkey wants to produce its own gas
Recep Tayyip Erdogan wished good luck to the drilling vessel Fatih, and its exploration work in the Black Sea in 2020 and 2021 was a success. Turkey announced the discovery of large gas fields, and its president promised to start exploiting them as early as 2023. How realistic plans are to quickly reduce dependence on supplies from Russia and Azerbaijan will become clear during the course of this year.
-
How the EU reduces dependence on Russian gas
“Nord stream-2” has sunk into oblivion
Quiet and deserted at the receiving terminal of the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in Lubmin, Germany. After the Russian attack on Ukraine, this project, around which there was so much noise, turned into an investment ruin at the bottom of the Baltic. Its German financiers, Wintershall Dea and Uniper, wrote off about 1 billion euros each and do not intend to return to it. Uniper is now building an LNG terminal.
Author: Andrey Gurkov
