EnerMech, and its alliance partner Offshore Technical Services (OTS), have fast-tracked the first phase of a major project to import liquified natural gas to Germany as the country races to reduce its dependence on Russian energy.

The Elbehafen LNG Import Terminal at the port of Brunsbüttel near Hamburg will bring greater energy security to the country and help alleviate the energy crisis in Europe by importing large amounts of LNG to a country which had no prior direct access to the LNG market.

Phase one involved the construction of necessary technical infrastructure at an existing jetty at the port of Brunsbüttel to accommodate a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) commissioned by German multinational energy company RWE on behalf of the country’s government. The requirement was for this phase to be completed within a timescale that was “as short as possible”.

EnerMech OTS was awarded the contract by Worley for the provision of pre-commissioning, commissioning execution, start-up support and specialist services.

It included flange management, nitrogen leak testing, boroscopic inspection for pipeline cleanliness and strength testing of the newly built temporary oil pipeline.

EnerMerch CEO Christian Brown said: “Work on the first phase of this project has been a huge success which has already seen first gas come to site.

“Fast-tracking a project requires the adequate planning and detailed execution to avoid problems, regardless of the reduced timescales involved.”

A full commissioning team at Elbehafen will take the project from the construction mechanical completion stage through to operations handover, delivering enhanced continuity of planning execution, interface reduction and project delivery.

Hoegh Gannet, which will operate from the port, is one of two floating LNG tankers commissioned by RWE.

It can take on up to 170,000 cubic metres of LNG from additional delivery tankers in a single unloading, converting it into a gaseous state which can then be fed into the national gas grid.

Work on a dedicated new LNG import jetty is also proposed and expected to begin late 2023 or early 2024.