Work on the construction of an LNG terminal starts this week in Lubmin, in the northeast of Germany, which is banking heavily on liquefied natural gas to replace gas piped in from Russia.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is scheduled to travel to the Gulf region this week to negotiate energy contracts, while the ReGas company will start construction on Tuesday in Lubmin. The LNG will be supplied by large ships, then transported by smaller vessels to the port, where it will be pumped into the network. The first gas should be supplied by December.
The Lubmin terminal is one of many planned by Germany. Floating LNG terminals will also be built. The LNG will have to come from sources such as the Gulf States.
Energy cooperation will be high on the agenda when Scholz visits Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar on Saturday and Sunday respectively. The Chancellor will be accompanied by several large German companies.
Germany and Qatar, one of the largest exporters of LNG worldwide, have been negotiating the supply of natural gas for some time, but so far without a major breakthrough. Qatar is said to be tough on the price and timeframes, according to government sources.
Cooperation with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will focus mainly on the supply of hydrogen to Germany.
