CEZ secures long-term booking in Stade
Published by Jessica Casey,
Editor
LNG Industry,
Three strong European energy suppliers will use the land-based terminal in Stade for natural gas imports from 2027: the Czech energy group, CEZ, has booked the remaining capacity at the Hanseatic Energy Hub (HEH) of 2 billion m3/y of natural gas. The contract runs for 15 years and can be extended for up to 25 years, including a later conversion to ammonia. Previously, the two German energy suppliers, EnBW and SEFE, had already secured long-term import rights of 6 billion m3/y and 4 billion m3/y, respectively. These bookings are also future-flexible and include the option to move to ammonia. In compliance with regulatory requirements, a further 1.3 billion m3 will be kept available for the spot market. The total capacity of the emission-free terminal is 13.3 billion m3/y of natural gas with a send-out capacity of 21.7 GWh/h.
With the booking, the Czech Republic will be able to cover more than one-quarter of its current annual gas consumption via the Hanseatic Energy Hub from 2027. The Czech government had set itself the political goal of becoming engaged in a LNG terminal in a neighbouring country.
Daniel Beneš, CEO of CEZ, said: “Onshore terminals will gradually replace the temporary FSRUs, so from the outset we sought to acquire long-term capacity in one of them. Until recently, we had not been in the LNG market at all, and over the last 1.5 years, we have gained a lot of experience on which we can now build. We have leased capacity at the floating terminal in Eemshaven until 2027, and thanks to Stade we will be able to smoothly continue supplying LNG after this date. Another advantage will be that the gas will only have to cross one international border on its way to the Czech Republic.”
Johann Killinger, Initiator, Co-Shareholder and Managing Director of Hanseatic Energy Hub, added: “Our partnership with CEZ emphasises the importance of European energy solidarity. We are delighted to be able to make this contribution to Europe's security of supply and look forward to working together in the future. We are now on the home straight with HEH. 100% of our capacities are booked on a long-term and future-flexible basis.”
The HEH is planned as a future-flexible modular system for the energy transition. In the first stage of expansion, LNG and green energy sources such as bio-LNG and synthetic natural gas can be imported via the emission-free terminal. At the same time, the terminal, port, industrial park and connection infrastructure are designed in such a way that a conversion to ammonia as a hydrogen-based energy source can take place in a modular fashion. With the booking of CEZ, HEH has successfully finalised the long-term commercial marketing of the land-based terminal and is preparing for the final investment decision, which will be taken in the coming weeks. Until commissioning, Stade will also be home to an FSRU chartered by the German government.
Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquid-natural-gas/23112023/ez-secures-long-term-booking-in-stade/
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