Page 4 - NorthAmOil Week 34 2022

NorthAmOil COMMENTARY NorthAmOil

Germany looks to Canada

for energy supplies

Germany is hoping that Canadian LNG imports could help it phase

out purchases of Russian gas, and has also announced a hydrogen

alliance with the North American country

CANADA- GERMANY has identified resource-rich Can- to Germany or elsewhere entails logistical chal-
GERMANY ada as a potential partner as it phases out its lenges that will take time to overcome.
dependence on Russian gas and seeks alterna-
WHAT: tive sources of energy supply. On a visit to Can- LNG hopes
Germany is eyeing ada this week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Scholz’s comments about Germany’s hopes of
imports of Canadian LNG said his country hoped Canadian LNG could turning to Canadian LNG to help pivot away
in the shorter term and is help expedite its shift away from imports of Rus- from dependence on Russian gas come as his
partnering with Canada sian gas. And on the final day of his visit, Scholz country scrambles to build new regasification
on hydrogen over the and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau capacity. Efforts are underway to expedite devel-
longer term. unveiled a hydrogen alliance, aimed at acceler- opment of four floating storage and regasifica-
ating efforts to export the fuel to Germany over tion units (FSRUs) in Germany, as well as two
WHY: the longer term. permanent offshore sites. The FSRUs in par-
The European country is These developments are illustrative of the ticular can be deployed more rapidly, allowing
seeking resource-rich German – and broader European – approach to Germany to start importing LNG in the not-too-
partners to help secure Russian energy supplies in the wake of the war distant future.
alternative supply in Ukraine. In the shorter term, LNG imports However, both Scholz and Trudeau have
sources as it pivots away from other countries are seen as a means of acknowledged the challenges involved in
from Russian gas. helping Germany and other European countries shipping Canadian LNG to Germany. Indeed,
pivot away from Russia. In the longer term, they Trudeau’s government has publicly questioned
WHAT NEXT: continue to pursue their decarbonisation and whether it is possible to build LNG export ter-
Ottawa has warned that energy transition goals, and this entails shifting minals on Canada’s East Coast rapidly enough
building new LNG export to cleaner forms of energy, such as green hydro- to address European supply challenges, as well
capacity will take time. gen, which is made using renewable sources. as the economic viability of such projects. This
Canada has considerable potential when is in part related to the fact that natural gas
it comes to both natural gas and hydrogen. would need to be transported to the East Coast
However, exporting either of these resources via pipeline from Western Canada. Oil and gas

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 34 25•August•2022