Stade LNG Terminal

This article is part of the Global Fossil Infrastructure Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

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Stade LNG Terminal is a LNG terminal under construction in Stade, Germany. The facility is intended to be longer-term replacement for the interim onshore Stade FSRU.

Location

The terminal is proposed for Stade, Germany.

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Project Details

• Owner: Hanseatic Energy Hub (HEH)
• Parent: Buss Group, Dow Chemical, Partners Group, Enagas
  • Formerly included Fluxys
• Location: Stade, Germany
• Coordinates: 53.652459, 9.510382 (approximate)
• Capacity: 13.3 bcm/y
• Cost: €1 billion (US$1.1 billion)
• Status: Construction
• FID Status: FID (2024)
• Type: Import
• Start Year: 2027
  • Formerly 2026
• Associated Infrastructure: Stade FSRU

Note: mtpa = million tonnes per year; bcfd = billion cubic feet per day; bcm/y = billion cubic meters/year

Background

The terminal is being pushed by Dow Chemical, which wants to see the project built on its factory site and is looking for ways of enabling LNG imports as soon as possible. The terminal is expected to import fracked gas from the United States, making the climate impacts of this project all the more consequential.

The investment cost was estimated in 2018 to be US$567 million.

In December 2020, Hanseatic Energy Hub (HEH), the project developer, launched the non-binding phase of an open season to gauge market interest in the facility. A binding phase for capacity bids is expected to be launched at the end of Q1 2021, with commercial operations set to start in 2026.

The terminal capacity was originally planned to be 4 bcm/y. As of March 2022, HEH stated the planned regasification capacity is 12 bcm/y.

In February 2021, HEH announced that the non-binding phase of its open season confirmed market interest from global players that supported the "full planned capacity" of the facility. According to HEH Managing Director Manfred Schubert, "The bids and volume requests we received confirm our proposal to base the development on 12 Bcm/year capacity." HEH said it would be working closely with potential customers to finalise the detailed commercial offering and 'terminal user agreement' before launching the binding phase of the open season in the second quarter of 2021.

In March 2021, it was announced that the Belgian gas infrastructure company Fluxys was joining the project as an 'industrial partner'. The agreement between HEH and Fluxys is to be confirmed following a merger clearance procedure with the competent authorities. HEH said it planned with Fluxys to jointly build a "near-zero carbon footprint" LNG terminal using excess heat from local industry for the regasification process.

A strategic partnership, with a view to future shipments of LNG from Canada to Europe, was announced in June 2021 between HEH and GNL Québec, the owners of the then proposed Energie Saguenay LNG Terminal in Quebec, Canada. The Energie Saguenay LNG Terminal project was effectively cancelled in July 2021 when Quebec's provincial government rejected the project, citing that developers had failed to prove that it would cut global greenhouse gas emissions.

In November 2021, HEH announced that it was planning to launch the binding phase of its capacity booking process before the end of the year and to have binding bids submitted in January. Launching the binding phase was subject to approval of allocation rules from Bundesnetzagentur, Germany's energy regulator.

In January 2022, citing gas market turbulence and volatility, HEH announced that it was delaying the binding phase of its capacity booking process until summer 2022. A company director said that discussions around the future political framework conditions for gas infrastructure in the EU and Germany were also a factor behind the decision to delay. As a result, a final investment decision for the project, set for the first quarter of 2023, may also be delayed.

Project momentum boosted by gas crisis

In March 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and subsequently announced intentions from the federal government to rapidly reduce Germany's dependence on Russian gas imports, the Stade LNG terminal's prospects for being developed were enhanced, though not as noticeably as those of the Brunsbüttel LNG Terminal and the Wilhelmshaven FSRU Terminal which the German state has formally fast-tracked for development. The lack of explicit state backing would indicate that the Stade project will rely on private financing if it's to move forward. An HEH executive suggested that, because of these changed circumstances, a request for a building permit would be made to the authorities in Stade within weeks. It was also reported that HEH had commenced an expression of interest process running from March 21 to April 8, with international market participants invited to express their interest in booking long-term capacity in the Stade terminal from 2026. On March 29, 2022, Stade city council granted "early municipal approval" for the proposed terminal. EnBW, Germany's third biggest energy company, signed a memorandum of understanding with HEH to buy 3 bcm/y from the planned Stade terminal.

In April 2022, Dow Chemical became a shareholder of the project, joining the existing consortium comprising Fluxys, Partners Group and Buss Group. Under the partnership, Dow is to contribute the land for constructing the terminal as well as infrastructure services. On April 11, HEH submitted its formal application for the LNG terminal and port in Stade. HEH also awarded the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract to a consortium led by Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas.

In May 2023, Fluxys sold its ownership stake in HEH, and in June, Spain's Enagas agreed to buy a 10% stake in HEH.

According to the July 2023 GIIGNL report, preparatory works for the construction of the facility have begun. Construction of a jetty began in January 2023, which will allow the under-construction Stade FSRU to import LNG.

In March 2024, HEH announced that it had taken a positive FID on the project, with the project set to be commissioned in 2027. The sponsor said its plan was for the terminal to import ammonia and hydrogen one day after serving as an LNG import terminal.

In June 2024, construction of the facility began.