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German private terminal operator Deutsche Regas has terminated its sub-charter contract with the Berlin government for one of its two floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) at its Mukran terminal in the Baltic Sea.

The decision to end the contract for the 7.5-Bcm/y capacity Energos Power FSRU followed a “ruinous pricing policy” pursued by state-owned LNG terminal operator Deutsche Energy Terminal (DET) since December last year, Deutsche Regas said on Feb.10. Deutsche Regas commissioned the Energos Power FSRU in March 2024. Its second FSRU at the port of Mukran, the 5-Bcm/y FSRU Neptune, went into operation on Sep. 2 last year. Both the FSRUs are chartered on a long-term basis.

DET held four marketing days in December and February for short term capacities in 2025 at Brunsbuttel and for one of its two FSRUs at Wilhelmshaven. All 50 slots offered through the Prisma marketing platform were sold. The average price achieved in the December auction was €0.11/MMBtu, while the average price in the February auction was €0.30/MMBtu. A similar auction by Deutsche Regas for 4Q 2023 started with a price of €0.51/MMBtu.

Germany’s FSRUs were given emergency government approvals on energy security grounds following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But the terminals have struggled to reach maximum capacity and costs for importers are higher than rival European import terminals. DET had “been systematically marketing its capacities for the regulated LNG terminals at prices significantly below the cost-covering fees approved [by the German government…that] led and continues to lead to significant market distortions in Germany” according to Deutsche Regas.

Deutsche Regas’s operating permit allows it to regasify up to 13.5-Bcm/y until Dec. 31, 2043. This makes it capable of covering up to 15% of Germany’s gas requirements. The terminal is linked to pipelines that allow direct gas exports to the Czech Republic and indirect exports to Slovakia, Hungary and Austria. Germany is building three onshore LNG terminals which are the Hanseatic Energy Hub in Stade, Tree Energy Solutions’ Wilhelmshaven LNG and German LNG in Brunsbuttel.