German LNG Terminal, the developer of the Brunsbuettel import project, expects to sign several binding capacity deals in the coming period as it continues to work on construction permits.
The joint venture, owned by Dutch Gasunie and Vopak, and Germany’s Oiltanking, is looking to build a regasification facility with a capacity of up to 8 bcm per year with two storage tanks.
Germany’s RWE has already expressed interest to take a large part of the terminal’s capacity as well as to import hydrogen from Australia to Brunsbuettel.
In addition, German LNG Terminal signed two agreements for long-term capacity back in 2019 with Switzerland’s Axpo and an unidentified “global LNG player.”
“Negotiations on binding capacity bookings are now at a very advanced stage and are being finalised,” a spokeswoman told LNG Prime in emailed comments on Tuesday.
Construction permits and FID
The developer has also recently received an exemption on tariff and network access regulations from the European Commission. This followed an approval by the German regulatory authority, Bundesnetzagentur, in December last year.
However, prior to reaching a final investment decision, German LNG Terminal has to secure construction permits for the Brunsbuttel site located in the greater industrial and economic zone of Hamburg.
“Essentially, we will go through two approval processes: a planning approval process and an immission control approval process in accordance with the German Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) for facilities on land as well as for waterside facilities,” the spokeswoman said.
She said that the company would submit these documents “in the coming weeks.”
Last year, German LNG Terminal had selected a Spanish-German partnership as an exclusive candidate for the final phase of its EPC tender procedure.
The partnership consists of Spain’s Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios, Sener, and Germany’s TGE Gas Engineering.
The contract scope includes a jetty with two berths, with both unloading and loading capabilities, for LNG carriers ranging from 1,000 up to 265,000 cbm.
The spokeswoman added that German LNG Terminal and the partnership were “in the final negotiations as well.”