Will a shift to LNG save Germany from running out of gas? | DW News

Gas storage facilities in Germany are more than 90% full, according to data released by the Aggregated Gas Storage Inventory (AGSI), a European energy data platform. The German government has planned for 95% of storage capacity to be filled by November. The storage is seen as essential for Germany to get through winter without Russian gas imports. "If everything goes well, savings in Germany are high and if we have a bit of luck with the weather, we will have a chance at getting through the winter comfortably," Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Monday. "That means, however, that the storage facilities will be empty again at the end of the winter — in this case really empty, because we are going to use the gas," he added.

Germany seeks alternative gas sources
Russia had supplied about 40% of the European Union's gas before its February invasion of Ukraine. In early September, Russian energy giant Gazprom said gas supplies to Western Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline had stopped entirely, claiming equipment issues. The German government has accused Moscow of "weaponizing" gas deliveries in response to Berlin's support of Ukraine and EU sanctions.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was expected to sign contracts for liquefied natural gas (LNG) during his visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Economic Affairs and Climate Action Minister Robert Habeck said on Monday. "The gas offering is slowly broadening," he said. Habeck was touring Lubmin, where the construction of one of Germany's new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals was set to start. The construction is part of a plan to stop the country's dependency on Russian fossil fuels in the wake of the war in Ukraine. "We must show that, in times like these, we can plan, authorize and build faster than is usually the case in Germany," Habeck said of the construction drive. Scholz will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the weekend, and Germany's energy needs are high on the agenda.