Germany's Uniper mulls resuming work on Wilhelmshaven LNG import terminal

Germany's Uniper is looking at restarting work on a floating LNG import terminal at Wilhelmshaven in northern Germany, a company spokesperson said Feb. 28.

Uniper in November 2020 shelved plans for a 10 Bcm/year floating LNG import facility after market players showed lukewarm interest in booking long-term capacity at the plant.

However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Feb. 27 said Berlin had decided to fast-track the construction of two LNG terminals -- one at Brunsbuttel and one at Wilhelmshaven -- to help reduce Germany's dependence on Russian gas imports.

"Uniper is currently examining the possibility of resuming planning for an LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven," the company spokesperson told S&P Global Platts.

"The site has excellent logistical prerequisites, and Uniper has already undertaken a lot of preliminary work and planning steps for a floating terminal in recent years," the spokesperson said.

Uniper subsidiary LNG Terminal Wilhelmshaven (LTeW) invited binding bids for capacity at the planned facility in October 2020.

But the following month it said it was re-evaluating plans because of "market players' reluctance to make binding bookings for import capacity."

Instead, it said it would consider the site for a future hydrogen imports into Germany.

Wilhelmshaven is one of three planned LNG import terminals in Germany along with the 8 Bcm/year German LNG project at Brunsbuttel and the proposed 12 Bcm/year Stade import facility.