Germany has launched an investigation into whether a natural gas pipeline intended to connect a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) to the regional grid was sabotaged ahead of its operational launch.
German newspaper group SHZ first reported a roughly 34-mile section of pipeline under construction by Dutch network operator Gasunie appeared to have several holes drilled in an undisclosed segment. The pipeline, which had been scheduled to come online by the end of 2023, was intended to provide an additional transport route for liquefied natural gas imports from the FSRU at Brunsbüttel.
State officials, according to media reports, said Gasunie reported the damage in November. While officials have been wary of commenting about possible suspects, public news station NDR reported the federal prosecutor’s office had “taken over the investigation into the initial suspicion of unconstitutional sabotage.”
The damaged pipeline is the latest in a series of potential attacks on European energy infrastructure. In October, damage to the subsea Balticonnector pipeline system linking Estonia and Finland prompted an investigation into possible sabotage.
European nations have been on high alert since September 2022, when multiple segments of the Nord Stream natural gas systems were possibly damaged by explosives. The rupture ended the possibility that Russian pipeline gas flows to Germany could return to the same levels as before the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and it increased Germany’s reliance on LNG imports.
Germany has also seen increased opposition from environmental groups over plans to rapidly increase regasification capacity with LNG terminals.
Almost one-third of the 4.73 million metric tons of LNG imported into Germany last year reached end-users through the Brunsbüttel FSRU, according to data from Kpler. The facility became one of three of Germany’s operational FSRUs in January 2023, helping the country displace Russian pipeline flows.
Gasunie, through its German LNG subsidiary, is also planning to build an onshore gas import terminal at Brunsbüttel to eventually replace the FSRU chartered from Hoegh LNG by RWE AG.
Germany could also see a delay in its plans to increase national import capacity after grid operator Gascade requested a construction extension until February. Gascade targeted completion by the end of last year of a gas pipeline to connect Germany’s Baltic LNG terminal at Mukran.
While Germany’s natural gas consumption has been limited since February 2022, falling European prices boosted gas-fired generation by 33% last year, according to Germany’s federal energy regulator.
So far, cold weather impacting Northwest Europe has appeared to weigh more heavily on gas prices than potential supply risk, even as tension along the Suez Canal has increased. Trading firm Energi Danmark wrote that despite increased heating demand, the influx of LNG and high underground storage rates for now have helped insulate the market.
“The market continues to follow the situation in the Red Sea, but the effect on Europe appears low, as only 5% of Europe’s LNG supply passes through the sea,” Energi Danmark analysts wrote.
