The LNG terminal in Stade is on the brink of collapse. The operating company DET no longer sees any prospect of a successful completion.
The background to this is reportedly a dispute between the state-owned operator Deutsche Energy Terminal (DET), which also operates the other import terminals for liquefied natural gas in Wilhelmshaven and Brunsbüttel, and the company Hanseatic Energy Hub (HEH), which was commissioned to build the connection infrastructure.
Both sides are blaming each other and have mutually terminated the existing contract. DET accuses HEH of failing to provide proof of the technical completion of the so-called superstructure facilities in Stade. The test operation of the FSRU “Energos Force“, which has been ready since March 2024, was therefore unable to begin.
HEH denies this. On the contrary: the plant has been completed and accepted. However, no payments have been received to date. According to the contract, DET is responsible for commissioning and operation. HEH has therefore rejected the termination, but has also given notice of termination itself.
Talks are reportedly still underway with the Federal Ministry of Economics and DET in order to put the terminal into operation after all. Outcome open.
The floating LNG terminals were installed in record time following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and the halt in Russian supplies in order to secure the supply of natural gas. Two facilities are currently in operation – in Wilhelmshaven and Brunsbüttel. Stade was to be added as a third location. The federal government had chartered FRSU (Floating Storage and Regasification Units) capacities in parallel. The costs amount to around €10 billion over the ten-year term.
However, the terminals are not fully utilized. According to the DET, only around 65% of the possible volume was handled last year. Criticism has therefore come from Deutsche Umwelthilfe. It speaks of the waste of a three-digit million sum for the project and calls for a rejection of the construction of further overcapacity. “Stade is a perfect example of how the perfectly justifiable emergency program has gotten out of hand,” it said in a statement.
HEH is also building a land terminal in Stade for the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which will later be converted to CO2-neutral energy sources such as ammonia. The facility is scheduled to go into operation in 2027. According to the company spokesperson, this project is not affected by the problems with the FSRU.
