Germany to sign LNG contracts in UAE

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was expected to sign contracts for liquefied natural gas (LNG) during his visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Economic Affairs and Climate Action Minister Robert Habeck said.

Habeck was touring Lubmin, where the construction of one of Germany’s new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals was set to start.

The construction is part of a plan to stop the country’s dependency on Russian fossil fuels in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

Scholz will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Germany’s energy needs are high on the agenda.

With the major Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Russia shut, Germany plans to build new LNG terminals to ship in gas.

Scholz said the LNG terminals in Wilhelmshaven, Stade Brunsbüttel and Lubmin would be ready for imports by the end of next year.

In Lubmin, the industrial port would initially be upgraded to allow smaller shuttle ships to bring LNG from large tankers anchored off the coast and feed it into the existing gas network.

The firm said the first gas could be delivered via the privately financed terminal as early as December.

A floating gas terminal funded by the German government should be ready for operation by the end of 2023.

Lubmin is also where the Nord Stream 1 gas pipelines arrive from Russia, but the line was shut three weeks ago.