MET revealed this on Thursday announcing its entry into the Czech market through its Prague-based subsidiary MET Česká Republika.
As a first step, the company will focus on supporting Czech wholesale energy market participants, such as large energy-intensive industrial companies and utilities – with an aim of offering its services to smaller customers and households at a later stage.
The newly established MET subsidiary in the Czech Republic has already received the necessary licenses for power and gas trading.
MET has been active in the country before: as part of its international operations, the group has recently delivered regasified LNG to the Czech market on the basis of its import capacities booked in Germany.
In the Czech Republic, the coal-to-gas switch in particular will be of great importance in the coming years in order to reduce emissions, according to MET.
MET did not provide further information regarding the first delivery of regasified LNG to the Czech market.
The group previously booked regasification capacities at the FSRU-based LNG import terminal in Germany’s Lubmin, owned by Deutsche ReGas.
This FSRU is now part of the Mukran LNG import facility which includes two units.
MET noted in the statement it recently secured long-term LNG supply agreements from the United States, adding that it has one of the “most diversified” LNG import structures from a geographical perspective in Europe.
Last year, the company entered into a 10-year deal to buy US LNG volumes from LNG giant Shell.
Before this contract, MET entered in September 2023 into a 20-year non-binding deal with US LNG terminal developer Commonwealth LNG to buy 1 mtpa of LNG from the proposed 9.3 mtpa plant in Cameron, Louisiana.
“Natural gas and LNG will continue to play a role in securing energy supplies for Europe as it represents the fossil fuel with the lowest carbon footprint and – as a bridge fuel – it also backs up weather-dependent renewable energy sources,” MET said.
