Germany’s Wilhelmshaven LNG terminal will cease operations in the first quarter of 2025, with government-owned Deutsche Energy Terminal GmbH (DET) confirming that no regasification activities will take place between January 5 and April 1, 2025. The terminal, which is owned by energy giant Uniper, has the German government as its majority shareholder.
In a statement, DET emphasized that the terminal’s role during the gas crisis had been critical in stabilizing the market. “Our capacities have already made a significant contribution to calming the market, stabilizing gas supply, and lowering gas prices,” DET said.
The Wilhelmshaven terminal, which mainly imports LNG from the United States, was built as part of Europe’s response to the energy crisis. With an annual regasification capacity of 7.5 billion cubic meters, it accounts for a substantial portion of the European Union’s LNG imports, which totaled around 120 billion cubic meters in 2023.
European natural gas prices recently dropped below €40 per megawatt-hour. This marked a sharp decline after prices had risen to a one-year high just a week earlier. The decrease in prices is attributed to a reduced concern over low gas supplies in Europe, fueled by ample supply and mild weather conditions.
Several European countries have found ways to continue receiving Russian gas despite sanctions on Gazprombank. Hungary and Bulgaria have managed to maintain their Russian gas imports, while Slovakia has announced plans to secure future supplies as gas flows from Ukraine are set to stop by year-end. Other nations have diversified their sources: Major German utilities have signed LNG supply agreements with the UAE’s ADNOC, and the UK’s record wind power generation has enabled it to export electricity to mainland Europe.
Meanwhile, European gas inventories remain strong. As of the latest data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), inventories stood at 96.4 billion cubic meters. The weekly drawdown of 3.56 billion cubic meters was lower than both last year’s 4.23 billion cubic meters and the five-year average of 3.68 billion cubic meters. Over the past 12 days, inventory withdrawals have been smaller than last year, narrowing the year-on-year deficit to 9.98 billion cubic meters, down from 11.4 billion cubic meters.
Additionally, projections from the European Centre for Medium-Term Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) indicate that temperatures in Central Europe will remain around five degrees Celsius above the 30-year average next week, continuing to stay above average through December 24.
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