Gasunie LNG Holding, Oiltanking and Vopak LNG Holding have launched a consultation period in their bid to build, own and operate a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at Brunsbuttel on Germany's Baltic coast.
Their joint venture, German LNG Terminal, said the mid-sized terminal offers the chance to diversify Germany's sources of gas supply and provide access to LNG as an alternative low-emission fuel for ships and trucks.
The terminal, which is close to the port of Hamburg and has direct access to Scandinavia and Baltic region via the Kiel Canal, would also provide LNG distribution services.
The facility would offer discharge and loading of LNG ships, storage of LNG, regasification and send out into the natural gas network, and LNG distribution via trucks and barges.
With an annual throughput capacity of five billion cubic metres and a 220,000 cubic metre storage tank, the terminal would have a jetty to receive Q-Flex vessels and an unloading rate of 14,000 cubic metres per hour.
The effort is designed to gain detailed insight into customer demand.
The start of construction is expected after the final investment decision in 2019, with operations scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2022.