Germany's Scholz opens floating terminal for liquefied natural gas

Its construction, in the record time of just under ten months, shows that "our country is capable of new beginnings and speed", the SPD politician said at the inauguration ceremony.

He was flanked by Economics Minister Robert Habeck of the Green party, Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the Free Democrats and Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil of the Social Democrats.

The floating terminal off the North Sea coast of Lower Saxony is intended to help close the gap in Germany's gas supply caused by a lack of supplies from Russia.

The centrepiece of the terminal is the almost 300-metre-long special ship "Höegh Esperanza", which in future will convert the liquefied natural gas delivered by tankers into its gaseous state and feed it into the German gas grid.

Scholz opened the terminal from the excursion ship Helgoland, which normally transports tourists. Around 400 guests attended the ceremony on the ship.

Four more terminals are to be built by the end of next year: one each in Brunsbüttel (Schleswig-Holstein), Stade (Lower Saxony) and Lubmin (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), plus another in Wilhelmshaven.

According to the Economy Ministry, together they can accommodate one third of the natural gas needed to supply Germany.

Scholz gave the go-ahead for the construction of the terminals in Wilhelmshaven and Brunsbüttel on February 27, three days after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.