Berlin (The Hawk): According to Uniper, the largest gas importer in Germany, the nation's first LNG terminal has begun operations one day ahead of schedule.
According to the Xinhua news agency, a tanker carrying about 165,000 cubic metres of LNG had already docked at the new terminal days before.
The government, which had chartered the tanker, claimed that the LNG was "enough to service around 50,000 families for a year."
Chancellor Olaf Scholz formally launched the LNG facility at Wilhelmshaven on December 17.
He declared that this is "only the beginning."
In the upcoming weeks and months, further LNG import facilities will be built on the nation's Baltic and North Sea shores.
According to the German government, by the end of 2024, Germany will be able to import more than 30 billion cubic metres of gas, which is more than twice the amount of gas that flowed through its pipelines from Russia the previous year.
An enormous effort is being made to ensure Germany's supply in the midst of the energy crisis, including the LNG terminals.
As a result of the temporary return to coal-fired power plants and the fact that gas storage facilities were fully utilised before the winter, measures were taken.
(Inputs from Agencies)