August 16, 2022 [ Reuters ] – Germany on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the country’s top gas importers Uniper , RWE  and EnBW’s  VNG  for the supply of two floating liquefied natural (LNG) gas terminals.

Under the MoU, the two planned Floating Storage and Regasification Units (FSRU) in Wilhelmshaven and Brunsbuettel will be fully supplied from their expected operational start in the coming winter until March 2024, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said.

“This is an important date in the series of steps that we have been taking since the beginning of the year, to make ourselves independent and less susceptible to blackmail from (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, and to give Germany a robust and resilient energy infrastructure, or in this case gas infrastructure,” he said.

Via the two FSRU, Germany will be able to import up to 12.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) of LNG a year, or around 13% of the country’s total natural gas demand in 2021, according to numbers from research firm Enerdata.

Nord Stream 1, which is majority-owned by Gazprom, usually supplies 55 bcm a year to Europe but it currently runs at just 20% of its capacity, citing delayed or faulty equipment while Germany says this is a pretext to hurt the local economy.

“The memorandum of understanding ensures that these ships will have orders for all the available gas at their disposal by March 2024,” Habeck said.

Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Rachel More

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