Spending on German floating LNG terminals to receive liquefied natural gas in Germany until 2038 will amount to 9.7 billion euros, a representative of the German Ministry of Economics told reporters.

“The long-term estimate is for investments in floating LNG terminal companies from 2022 to 2038. The costs for the entire period are estimated at 9.7 billion euros,” – said the agency’s representative to reporters at a briefing on Friday.

They clarified that they were referring to the costs that will be channeled from the time the terminals are put into operation.

“The cost estimates at the moment are made for a very long period, and something can certainly change,” she added, stressing that spending on floating LNG terminals for the entire federal government is “a very important element for the security of Germany’s energy supply.”

Earlier, German magazine Spiegel reported that purchasing and maintaining floating LNG terminals in 2022 would cost Germany €3.5 billion more – more than double what was previously planned – at €6.56 billion. But there is no other way out, because everyone can see how Natural Gas Futures are rising in price.

Since the spring, the German government has been trying to find alternative ways to bring natural gas to Germany to replace the missing supply from Russia. In the short term this is expected to be aided by floating LNG terminals, which can be put into operation more quickly than fixed terminals. The first two of them may be put into operation as early as this year.

According to the Ministry of Economics, Germany is currently planning to build a total of five state-owned floating LNG terminals.

Earlier we reported that Shell this year injected 1.2 billion pounds of capital into the British retail division.