German LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven to maintain deliveries in 2025

The liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the northern German port of Wilhelmshaven is set to keep supplying Germany with gas in the first quarter of 2025, its operator said on Saturday.

The state-owned Deutsche Energy Terminal (DET) confirmed a report in the Nordwest-Zeitung newspaper that all available capacity at the Brunsbüttel and Wilhelmshaven terminals had been sold at an auction on December 23 for the first quarter of the new year.

It had previously been reported that the capacity of the LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven would not be marketed in the period from January 5 to April 1, and that the terminal would remain unused for cargo deliveries.

The availability and utilization of the terminals were at a very good level in 2023 and 2024, a DET spokesman said.

"The resilience of the gas supply in Germany and Europe has increased significantly thanks to the terminals," he stressed. "They make an important contribution to security of supply and help to stabilize prices on the gas market."

The LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven was the first to be commissioned in Germany. So far, it has covered a large proportion of the country's LNG imports.

A second terminal is now planned for Wilhelmshaven, along with another at Stade.

DET expects the two additional floating terminals to be operational in the first quarter of 2025. Critics fear that they could create excessive capacity for LNG.