German Ports to Reject Russian Natural Gas Shipments - FT

Germany has warned state-operated gas import terminals to reject liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments from Russia, following a notification of a planned delivery. In a letter dated November 6, seen by the Financial Times, Germany's Ministry of Economy instructed Deutsche Energy Terminal not to accept any Russian LNG delivery after the company informed Berlin that its import facility in Brunsbüttel would receive a Russian cargo on Sunday.

The ministry stated that the order was given to protect the country's "priority public interests" and called on the operator to "reject LNG deliveries from Russia until further notice." The potential shipment comes at a time when LNG is becoming a bargaining chip for the EU and during Donald Trump's presidency; European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suggested last week the idea of replacing Russian LNG imports with more from the U.S. Prior to Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Germany was the largest importer of Russian gas in Europe. Following the disruption of gas deliveries via pipelines, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government sought alternatives and built a number of LNG terminals for maritime gas supply.

In its letter, the Ministry of Economy stated that allowing this shipment would contradict the primary reason for establishing the LNG terminal, which is to make Germany and the EU as a whole "independent from Russian gas." However, while the U.S. and the UK have banned Russian LNG, the EU continues to import the fuel—according to commodity data firm Kpler, 20% of this fuel still comes from Russia. Most of the Russian LNG has been sent to France, Spain, and Belgium under long-term contracts, as the companies involved have stated they cannot exit these contracts without an outright ban. The letter mentioned that Germany has not imported Russian LNG directly since Moscow's invasion and that the ministry's instruction has ensured "the situation remains the same."