Press Release: “IHK Schleswig-Holstein, the umbrella organisation of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Schleswig-Holstein, welcomes the plans for Germany’s first LNG terminal in Brunsbüttel.” This was underlined by IHK’s Managing Director, Björn Ipsen, following an in-depth exchange of ideas between himself and Rolf Brouwer, Managing Director of German LNG Terminal GmbH. The meeting, which had originally been planned to take place in the German town of Heide, was held instead by conference call from the homes of the two gentlemen due to the current situation.
“The project offers enormous opportunities and development potential for the industrial location in Brunsbüttel and for the whole of Schleswig-Holstein. Thanks to the LNG terminal, ChemCoast Park, which already provides 4,000 direct jobs and 12,500 others in the region, will remain an energy hub as Schleswig-Holstein’s largest continuous industrial zone,” emphasizes Ipsen.
“German LNG Terminal has a highly motivated team of international specialists who will use their experience to plan and implement the terminal in Brunsbüttel,” reported Rolf Brouwer to IHK’s Managing Director. As two of the shareholding companies have already planned and built a similar terminal — Gate Terminal — in Rotterdam, they have a wealth of expertise. In 2019, this terminal already reported a good 170 ship operations compared with a good 100 vessels in 2018.
“Europe currently has 36 such terminals through which liquefied natural gas (LNG) is brought ashore. Germany has no LNG terminal of its own and therefore has to resort to the LNG terminal in Zeebrugge despite the fact that Germany is the largest natural gas market in Europe” Brouwer goes on to say.
The terminal would also be located in Schleswig-Holstein’s largest continuous industrial zone which is home to many companies in the energy sector. “We have met with a great deal of local support and aim to network intensively with the regional economy and beyond.”
Brouwer and Ipsen had organised a conference call to discuss the status of the terminal project in Brunsbüttel and the opportunities for business in Schleswig-Holstein.
German LNG Terminal chose the Brunsbüttel location because its proximity to the industrial companies based in the region offers an attractive business environment. The North-Baltic Sea Canal (Kiel Canal), which runs alongside the planned terminal, means that Scandinavian and Baltic countries are easily accessible.
Wealth of experience — German LNG and the shareholding companies German LNG Terminal GmbH is a joint venture between Dutch companies Gasunie LNG Holding B.V. and Vopak LNG Holding B.V. as well as Oiltanking GmbH, a subsidiary of Marquard & Bahls AG based in Hamburg, Germany. The aim of the joint venture is to build and operate a multifunctional import and distribution terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Brunsbüttel.
The terminal will also provide a wide range of services including the loading and unloading of LNG carriers, the temporary storage of LNG, regasification, feeding natural gas into the German natural gas network, and distribution of LNG via tank trucks and LNG tank cars.
