On February 28, 2023, the final acceptance audit took place at the Wilhelmshaven LNG terminal by the responsible authorities under the leadership of the Oldenburg State Trade Supervisory Office (GAA Oldenburg). This final acceptance is stipulated in the BImSchG approval notice (BImSchG = Federal Immission Control Act) dated December 16, 2022.
Acceptance took place without any objections.
With the successful completion of this final step, the Wilhelmshaven LNG terminal in Voslapper Groden commenced regular operations on March 1, 2023.
The facility was built by Uniper in record time and became the first German LNG import terminal to start operations on December 21, 2022, initially in trial operation. Since then, one LNG tanker is unloaded every week and the liquefied natural gas (LNG) is regasified at the FSRU "Höegh Esperanza" and injected into the natural gas grid from there.
It is currently the only LNG import terminal that contributes reliably and with significant volumes of natural gas to the security of supply in Germany. Around six percent of Germany's gas demand can be met via the terminal. Uniper, as the installer and operator of the terminal, will continue to play a key role in ensuring that there are no gas shortages in Germany in the future, especially in the coming winter of 2023/24.
Since the start of commercial operation on January 15, 2023, the federal government company, Deutsche Energy Terminal GmbH (DET), has assumed the role of plant operator and permit holder. LNG Terminal Wilhelmshaven GmbH (LTeW) has taken over the task of technical and commercial management of the LNG terminal on behalf of DET.