Mukran FSRU
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Mukran FSRU, also known as Mukran LNG Terminal, Rügen LNG Terminal and Energy Terminal Mukran “Deutsche Ostsee”, is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) import terminal operating in Germany.[1] The facility is a longer-term replacement for Lubmin FSRU, which operated between 2023 and 2024.
Location
The terminal is proposed to be located offshore at the port of Mukran on Rügen Island, Germany.[2]
Project details
- Operator:
- Owner: Deutsche ReGas[2]
- Parent company: Deutsche ReGas[2]
- Vessel #1: Energos Power FSRU[3] (formerly named Transgas Power, under Dynagas ownership)[4]
- Vessel operator:
- Vessel owner: Energos Infrastructure[4]
- Vessel parent company: Energos Infrastructure[4]
- Vessel parent company: TotalEnergies (50%), Morgan Stanley (50%)[2][5]
- Location: Mukran port, Rügen Island, Germany[2]
- Status: Operating[1]
- Type: Import[2]
- Cost:
- Financing:
- FID status:
- Associated infrastructure: Mukran FSRU
Background
Mukran FSRU is a LNG import facility planned for the island of Rügen, Germany, comprising two floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs).[2] Deutsche ReGas will deploy Dynagas' Transgas Power FSRU at the site and it move TotalEnergies' FSRU Neptune from Lubmin FSRU facility, also owned by Deutsche ReGas, to Mukran FSRU in late 2023.[7] The project's final capacity after the installation of both FSRUs will be 13.5 bcm/y.[7] The initially proposed capacity was 18 bcm/y, and the project was downsized given local resistance and an easing of energy bottlenecks in Germany.[8]
The original sponsor, RWE, announced in May 2023 that it was no longer involved in the project.[9][10]
In July 2023, the Bundestag passed amendments to the national LNG Acceleration Act that allowed for the fast-tracking of the construction of the project.[11]
In August 2023, Deutsche ReGas announced that it had booked all of the offered regasification capacity at the terminal during its binding open season, which amounted to 4 bcm/y over a period of at least 10 years. The firm said that the remaining volumes will be offered at a later date.[7]
In September 2023, the Leipzig Federal Administrative Court allowed Gascade's connection pipeline to the facility to proceed, over environmental groups' objections.[12]
In February 2024, it was reported that the first FSRU, the Energos Power FSRU, was at the facility and had begun trial operations.[13]
In April 2024, Deutsche ReGas received an operating permit from the German government for Phase II of the project.[3]
As of June 2024, GIIGNL reported that the second FSRU Neptune was set to arrive at Mukran in Phase II later in 2024, once it finishes its service at Lubmin where it was stationed for the first phase of the project. The Transgas Power FSRU, originally owned by Dynagas, has since been bought by Energos Infrastructure.[3][4]
In early July 2024, the FSRU Neptune arrived at the site of the project, which is expected to launch full operations later that month.[5]
The terminal began commercial operations in September 2024.[1] The terminal's full capacity is 13.5 bcm/y, and individually, the Energos Power FSRU (formerly Transgas Power FSRU) has an import capacity of 7.5 bcm/y, and the Neptune FSRU has a capacity of 5 bcm/y.[14][15]
Opposition
Environmentalists, local politicians, and the tourism sector have strongly opposed the project.[16] Germany's Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) has said that, “The planned liquefied gas terminal off Rügen is to be built in the middle of a marine protection area. That would destroy parts of the seabed and endanger the already polluted Greifswalder Bodden, its habitats and native species.”[17]
In July 2023, the mayof of Binz, a resort town on Rügen, has said it will take legal action against the federal government. Residents have expressed concern that the projects will impact marine life and tourism.[18]
In August 2023, Global Energy Monitor's Inside Gas summarized the state of opposition toward the project, "Controversy and legal actions are intensifying over the planned LNG import terminal on Germany’s tourist island of Rügen. With local opposition to the project continuing, Germany’s economy minister and vice chancellor Robert Habeck has appealed to state authorities in the country’s north-east to allow its construction, claiming that increasingly likely delays will lead to a “risk of incalculable price increases, supply bottlenecks and severe economic damage, which would hit eastern Germany in particular.” Both the local municipality of Binz, the largest city on Rügen, and the NGO Deutsche Umwelthilfe have filed lawsuits aimed at halting the construction of an undersea pipeline that would connect the terminal with the mainland. While the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is calling for an environmental impact assessment of the project, it has been slammed by environment groups — including WWF Deutschland — for allowing dredging work for the pipeline to commence ahead of assessment procedures, which they say will damage the marine environment in the Baltic Sea. The civil disobedience movement Ende Gelände will hold a camp on Rügen island in late September."[19]
In May 2024, the Baltic Sea resort of Binz filed a lawsuit with the Federal Administration Court against the commissioning of the terminal, citing reports finding "unacceptable" risks of accidents at the facility, including collisions, fires, and explosions.[20]
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Staff, LNG Prime (2024-09-03). "Deutsche ReGas launches commercial ops at Mukran FSRU terminal". LNG Prime. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 "Germany builds up LNG import terminals". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 GIIGNL. The LNG Industry: Annual GIIGNL Report. June 2024.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Čučuk, Aida (2024-01-09). "Energos Infrastructure acquires Dynagas FSRU duo on charter in Germany". Offshore Energy. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Staff, LNG Prime (2024-07-04). "Deutsche ReGas says second FSRU arrives in Mukran". LNG Prime. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ↑ "Berth 12, Mukran (Sassnitz) Port | 4C Offshore". www.4coffshore.com. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 LNG Prime Staff (2023-08-09). "Deutsche ReGas says Mukran LNG capacity booked". LNG Prime. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- ↑ "Germany scales down LNG terminal plans as supply crisis eases". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- ↑ LNG Prime Staff (2023-05-23). "Germany's RWE says it is not involved in Mukran LNG plans". LNG Prime. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- ↑ "RWE Draws Up Plans to Exit Controversial German LNG Project - BNN Bloomberg". BNN. 2023-05-10. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- ↑ Reuters. German parliament backs fast-track plans for LNG terminals. July 7, 2023.
- ↑ Reuters. German Mukran LNG import terminal seen ready by first quarter - Gascade head. September 20, 2023.
- ↑ "Unabhängige Energieversorgung: LNG-Terminal Mukran auf Rügen nimmt Arbeit auf". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in Deutsch). ISSN 1865-2263. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
- ↑ Reuters. Germany builds up LNG import terminals. September 20, 2023.
- ↑ "FSRU Neptune Arrives off Lubmin, Germany". globalenergyinfrastructure.com. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
- ↑ manager magazin. "Bund plant LNG-Terminal in Mukran auf Rügen" (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- ↑ "Why the planned LNG terminal off Rügen is so controversial". Globe Echo. 2023-04-20. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- ↑ Offshore Technology. German town plans legal action over LNG terminals. July 11, 2023.
- ↑ Global Energy Monitor's Inside Gas. Issue 50. August 31, 2023.
- ↑ "Rügen: Wird das Flüssiggas-Terminal in letzter Minute gestoppt?". FAZ.NET (in Deutsch). 2024-05-03. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
