- Uniper signed a contract with Mitsui OSK Lines to build and charter an LNG ship.
- It will handle deliveries of LNG into Germany’s planned terminal at Wilhelmshaven.
- Germany wants to diversify from pipeline gas from the Netherlands, Norway, and Russia.
- The ship known as FSRU is designed in accordance with German requirements.
- It will be built by Daewoo Shipbuilding Marine Engineering and chartered by LTW for 20 years.
According to an article published in Reuters, Uniper signed a contract with Mitsui OSK Lines to build and charter a ship to handle deliveries of LNG into Germany’s planned terminal at Wilhelmshaven (LTW).
Potential LNG terminal
LTW, a subsidiary of Uniper, is the project developer and operator behind the potential LNG terminal at the deep-sea port on the North Sea coast.
Germany wants to diversify from pipeline gas from the Netherlands, Norway, and Russia, while LNG exporters are seeking marketing opportunities in a region whose indigenous gas supplies are decreasing fast.
Floating Storage and Regasification Unit
Known in the industry as a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), the ship, designed in accordance with German requirements, will be built at a South Korean shipyard by Daewoo Shipbuilding Marine Engineering and chartered by LTW for 20 years, Uniper said in a statement.
It will provide 263,000 cubic meters of storage capacity and feed regasified gas through port facilities into onshore transmission grids.
Opening of new supply channels
Uniper board member David Bryson said his company would handle access to customers of LNG in Europe and open up new supply channels for its customers.
Uniper sold 220 billion cubic meters of gas last year, more than double Germany’s consumption.
“The agreement to build and charter this FSRU is an important milestone for both parties on the journey to establishing an LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven,” he said.
Project to be realized
The commercial realization of the project will move ahead over the coming summer when a tender process will test customers’ readiness to express binding interest in bookings, he said.
Alternative projects for German LNG terminal locations include Brunsbuettel on the Kiel Canal and the inland river port, Stade.
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Source: Reuters
