Germany (bbabo.net), - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not find additional gas in Canada to replace Russian. And, obviously, the German delegation was not looking for gas on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. At least German importers no longer see Canada as a major source of LNG.
Negotiations between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looked like a meeting of friends, according to Die Zeit. However, the expected gas breakthrough did not work out. According to the German edition, at a press conference, the head of the Canadian government said that it is still necessary to find a business model for exporting LNG from Canada to Europe.
“At current prices, this means that the topic of gas exports from Canada to Europe is simply not on the agenda - and there is no certainty that this will not be the case in the future,” writes Die Zeit.
The German chancellor himself was even less specific on Canadian LNG. “Germany is rapidly refusing to import Russian energy resources, and Canada is our desired partner. Now this means that we are increasing our LNG imports and we hope that Canadian LNG will play an important role in this process,” said Olaf Scholz. As the German edition notes, the head of the German government spoke more about hydrogen.
Significantly, even before the visit, German companies themselves were not enthusiastic about participating in Canadian LNG projects.
Thus, according to the Canadian The Globe and Mail, Uniper, the largest gas importer to Germany, once considered participating in Canadian LNG projects, but now this does not play a big role for the company.
The Goldboro LNG terminal remained at the project stage but has not been funded by owner Pieridae Energy for the last year, Lukas Wintgens, a spokesman for the German company, told the publication. “Our contract with Goldboro for 5 million tons of LNG per year is valid, but against this background it no longer plays a special role in Uniper's plans,” a company representative said.
The Canadian authorities considered the option of converting Spanish Repsol's LNG import terminal into an export one. However, this option will also take at least five years, while Germany plans to phase out gas from 2035. In addition, it is necessary to build gas pipelines from the western part of the country, where the deposits are located, to the eastern coast, where terminals will be built. And the public and the government itself is against it.
Therefore, in Ottawa, so far, the best option for everyone is the construction of an LNG terminal by Shell on the west coast - on the Pacific Ocean. The project is intended for consumers in Asia, however, as the Minister of Energy of Canada Jonathan Wilkinson said, it will relieve tension in the entire world market.
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