European LNG import capacity to rise sharply in 2023

A swathe of new LNG import capacity set to come online in the coming months and later next year could lift Europe's aggregate LNG import capacity by 20pc by December 2023, as the region seeks to do away with Russian pipeline supply.

Total European LNG import capacity could stand at around 250mn t/yr by the end of next year from 210mn t/yr at present, if planned projects and expansions are finalised by current timelines. The sharp rise is mainly concentrated in the first half of next year, with new German import terminals driving most of the increase.

Germany has just commissioned the first of its three planned import terminal that are scheduled to start up this winter. The 170,000m³ Hoegh Esperanza floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) reached the planned 5.8mn t/yr Wilhelmshaven facility on 15 December, with test sendout starting on 21 December. The 140,000m³ Neptune FSRU then arrived at the 5.2mn t/yr Deutsche Ostsee in Lubmin on 16 December, although the exact start date remains unclear. And next month, the 4mn t/yr Brunsbuttel import facility is set to receive an FSRU.

Germany was the largest importer of Russian pipeline gas over recent years, but has greatly accelerated its plans to start importing LNG following a slowdown in receipts from the country. Germany now has 10 LNG import terminals it plans to bring online over the next decade, and has also signed a spate of supply contracts with producers.

Later into next year, three more import terminals could begin operations in Germany. The 138,000m³ Excelsior FSRU is set to be the second unit to operate at Wilhelmshaven as part of a 5.8mn t/yr import project jointly managed by Tree Energy Solutions (TES), Engie and Eon, with operations slated to begin in October. This could be followed by one facility in Stade and second project in Lubmin that are set to come on line before the end of the year. One project is scheduled to use the 174,000m³ Transgas Power, and the same-sized Transgas Force, though further details on exact import capacities have yet to be announced.

Another terminal set to come on line in the coming weeks is the 3.8mn t/yr project in Inkoo, Finland, which will bolster gas supply to not only Finland, but also Estonia and further into the Baltic region. The 150,900m³ Exemplar FSRU reached Inkoo on 28 December, and Finland's Gasgrid announced a target for the terminal to start distributing gas from mid-January.

Turkey could also add to its 34.8mn t/yr of existing import capacity by early next year. The planned Saros import project is slated to start operations next month, with the 180,000m³ Vasant FSRU understood to have been secured by the country's Botas for the project. The Saros project is slated to have 20mn m³/d of regasification capacity, which would be equivalent to around 5.6mn t/yr of LNG import capacity.

France is planning to boost LNG import capabilities through expanding existing projects, while also securing an additional FSRU. Optimisation and debottlenecking processes at the Dunkirk and Fos Cavaou import terminals are set to lift import capacity by 2mn t/yr across both terminals by the start of next year. TotalEnergies also plans on bringing online the 2.9mn t/yr Le Havre import terminal, using the 145,000m³ Cape Ann FSRU, which is scheduled to arrive in June 2023 ahead of commissioning in September.

There are several more planned terminals that are targeting start-ups next year elsewhere in Europe, but their timelines are less clear. Italy's Snam is planning to bring online a 3.8mn t/yr terminal in Piombino using the 170,000m³ Golar Tundra, although strong opposition to the project from local authorities could threaten its scheduled start up in May. Albania is aiming to start operations at its Vlora import facility in July, but which FSRU will be used is unclear, given the Excelsior is now intended for the second Wilhelmshaven facility. And Cyprus's planned Vasilikos LNG import terminal has yet to start operations, with construction of the terminal beginning in 2020 and an original start date targeted for the first quarter of this year. Greek firm Motor Oil is also planning to commission the 3.3mn t/yr Dioriga at the end of next year, or possibly the start of 2024, which would make it Greece's second import facility. However the project has yet to reach a final investment decision (FID). Greece could also see another import terminal start operations in January 2024, with the 4.3mn t/yr Alexandroupolis terminal — that has already reached FID, and construction has already started.

Regasification additions continue into 2024 and beyond, with expansions at Belgium's Zeebrugge, France's Fos Cavou and Poland's Swinoujscie set to add a combined 6.5mn t/yr of import capacity in the first quarter of 2024.

By Ellie Holbrook