Page 6 - FSUOGM Week 35 2022

FSUOGM COMMENTARY FSUOGM

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

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

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 35 02•September•2022