Germany is pressing ahead with its plans to begin imports of LNG, with an award going to Friedrich Vorwerk for a pipeline connection to the Brunsbüttel terminal.
The company said the contract was worth more than 120 million euros ($120.1mn). Friedrich Vorwerk will carry out the work via a joint venture with Austria’s Habau Group.
Gasunie Deutschland aims to commission the first FSRU at Brunsbüttel by the end of this year.
Friedrich Vorwerk said it would build a 3 km connection from the port to an existing gas pipeline, at SH Netz.
It will also build a second link, around 55 km in length, starting construction in 2023. This will run from Brunsbüttel to Hetlingen. This second pipeline will allow capacity for an expansion of LNG deliveries.
The contract covers both lines.
Gasunie said last week that it had submitted applications for the pipeline plans.
The company cited the LNG Acceleration Act, which came into force on June 1. Gasunie said the law provided a “significant acceleration” of permitting processes. As such, it is “cautiously optimistic” that the government will approve its plans quickly.
Gasunie now must reach agreements with around 300 land owners.
Additional plans
Friedrich Vorwerk won pipeline work on the Wilhelmshaven LNG import terminal on June 28. The company intends to install a 30 km connecting pipeline by the end of 2022. This will run from Sillenstede, near Schortens, to the Netra long-distance pipeline.
The plan at Wilhelmshaven calls for two FSRUs to be connected by the end of the year. Two more are due in mid-2023.
The pipeline builder said the connection pipeline will be hydrogen ready. In future, Germany intends to import hydrogen – and ammonia – through its new LNG capacity.
The country is planning the construction of more LNG import terminals. Fluxys and Dow are working on a plan at the Stade industrial park, with the aim of building an import terminal by 2026. Stade will have capacity of 13.3 billion cubic metres per year.
Other plans include talks around Hamburg and Lubmin, which is where the Nord Stream pipeline lands.
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