RWE Still in Talks With German Government on Ruegen LNG Project

Josefine Fokuhl and Petra Sorge
·1 min read

(Bloomberg) -- RWE AG is still in discussions with Germany about developing another LNG terminal, the utility said after a media report stated that it seeks to withdraw from a project on the Baltic Sea island of Ruegen.

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The utility already operates a state-backed floating terminal near Hamburg. RWE has said it doesn’t intend to operate the facilities in the long term but is in talks with the government about helping to develop those projects.

“We do not intend to operate LNG infrastructure on a permanent basis, and we expect to hand over these activities to other players in the foreseeable future,” a company spokesperson said. Regarding Ruegen, “We are only involved in the project as a service provider for the German government and help where we can and are needed.”

Germany has embraced liquefied natural gas as way to fill the energy gap after Russia cut pipeline supplies in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine. However, the Ruegen project — near the tourist destination of Sellin on the island — has been a source of contention, with environmental and local groups saying it shouldn’t go forward.

An RWE affiliate in February submitted a proposal for the offshore project, but the government backed off and is now considering an LNG terminal at the industrial harbor of Mukran, also on Ruegen.

A final political decision on the location of the project “has not yet been made, but is to be made in the near future,” a spokesperson for Germany’s economy ministry said.

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