Photo: Tank Storage Magazine

Germany’s first floating gas station “Hoegh Esperanza” will today begin operations in the North Sea coast town of Wilhelmshaven.

The platform contains an initial shipment of Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) from Nigeria that is presumed to supply the yearly energy need of 50,000 German households. Germany, the largest importer of Russian gas in the EU has had to search for alternative gas routes amid ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine.

While this costly project is aimed at reducing Germany’s reliance on Russian natural gas in the short-to medium term, the new terminal’s gas import will only account for roughly 20 percent of previous gas supply from Russia. This will be the first of several LNG tankers as Berlin departs from Russian oil, other similar actions will include temporarily reinstating oil- and coal-fired power stations and continuing the use of nuclear power plants. Although the measure is intended to ease economic pressures, the insufficiency in gas supply will still negatively affect small households that depend on natural gas for heating, as well Germany’s production capacity.