The Lubminer LNG terminal is expecting a new delivery - contrary to initial plans, the liquefied natural gas is now coming from the USA. Another source, on the other hand, will continue to be avoided as far as possible.
Lubmin/Mukran (dpa/mv) - A tanker with the second delivery of liquefied natural gas for the terminal in Lubmin is expected in the Baltic Sea this week. The "Cool Voyager" brings around 155,000 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG), said Stephan Knabe from Deutsche Regas of the German Press Agency. The LNG comes from the USA.
In mid-January, Deutsche Regas stated that contracts with long-term suppliers do not include deliveries from the USA or Russia. However, this only referred to preliminary agreements for the commissioning phase, explained Knabe. Two of the originally planned three deliveries were canceled. The company is now in continuous operation and the suppliers have a largely free hand.
"In fact, for us as the operator, this means that for the long-term deliveries that follow, there is only the assurance that we will not receive any LNG from Russia. The decision about the source of supply is the sole responsibility of the terminal's customers."
LNG from the USA has been criticized for being extracted using fracking. Gas or oil is extracted from rock layers with the help of pressure and liquids, which can pose a risk to the environment. The method is forbidden in Germany. Energy supplies from Russia are partially boycotted in response to the Russian attack on Ukraine. Deutsche Regas has no knowledge of how the natural gas from the USA was obtained, said Knabe.
According to ship tracking services on the Internet, the now expected "Cool Voyager" started in mid-January from the Gulf Coast of the US state of Louisiana and was north of Denmark late Monday afternoon. The tanker, sailing under the Maltese flag, is to reload the LNG off Rügen onto the "Seapeak Hispania" located there. This tanker serves as an interim storage facility. Smaller shuttle ships transport the LNG through the shallow Bay of Greifswald to the actual terminal in the industrial port in Lubmin. The operators received the operating license in mid-January. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had symbolically opened the terminal.
