German LNG Terminal, the developer of the Brunsbuettel import project, has made changes to its management as it continues to work on the planned facility near Hamburg.
The joint venture, owned by Dutch Gasunie and Vopak, and Germany’s Oiltanking, said in a statement its managing director, Rolf Brouwer, has returned to Vopak.
Also, the LNG terminal developer said the move follows two important milestones for the project. This includes the exemption from network access by the EU and the application for planning permission.
German LNG Terminal is looking to build a regasification facility with a capacity of up to 8 bcm per year with two 165,000-cbm storage tanks. Plans also include importing hydrogen.
“Under Rolf Brouwer’s leadership, a stable project company has been developed which is
determined to tackle the future plans. Our thanks go to Rolf Brouwer and his team for
making this project so successful despite the challenging environment caused by the
pandemic,” the statement said.
“The foundations have now been laid for the project to move with further momentum into the approval procedure phase, followed by its gradual implementation,” the firm said.
New managing directors
As of September this year, German LNG Terminal will have two new managing directors.
These include the current head of finance and administration Philipp Kroepels but also Michael Kleemiß, “who is already well familiar with the project as a representative of the shareholding company, Gasunie,” the firm said.
Kleemiß has almost 25 years of experience in the natural gas business both in
Germany and in the Netherlands.
He has also worked as division manager in the marketing and operations division of Gasunie Deutschland. At the moment, he is responsible for Gasunie’s corporate strategy and business development in Groningen, according to the statement.
On the other side, Kroepels has held various commercial and operational management positions in the international energy business for over 15 years in Germany, Southern Europe, and the USA.
During this time, he was responsible for the business development area for
Oiltanking’s parent company, Marquard & Bahls.
Before joining German LNG in July 2020, he worked in the US as managing director of Marquard & Bahls’ jet fuel division, the statement said.