Trudeau to Solz: It is not easy to export LNG to Germany

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged Monday that exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Germany is not easy, even as the European country looks to diversify its sources of supply to reduce its dependence on Russia.

At a press conference in Montreal with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Trudeau downplayed the possibility of LNG exports from his country, citing the long distance between the fields (west) and ports on the Atlantic coast (east).

“We are looking at options to see if it makes sense to export LNG and if it is profitable to export directly to Europe,” Justin Trudeau said.

For his part, Olaf Scholz said Germany is speeding up the construction of port infrastructure and natural gas pipelines to boost LNG imports and is turning to countries such as Canada. Germany wants to “become independent of Russian gas supplies,” reminded Chancellor Scholz.

Canada does not have LNG terminals on its Atlantic coast and will therefore have to build them in order to export to Europe. In addition, a new pipeline would be needed to transport the LNG from Alberta (west) to the east coast of Canada, which entails high costs.

The issue of energy security in Germany, which is heavily dependent on Russian natural gas, has become of major importance since Russia began reducing gas flows to Europe.

The two leaders hinted that a deal involving hydrogen projects could be announced today. “We are moving forward with a series of investments around hydrogen and we look forward to discussing more tomorrow (Tuesday),” Trudeau said.

Chancellor Scholz explained that Germany is betting on hydrogen to reduce pollution and pointed out the important role that Canada can play in this area.

Olaf Solz and Justin Trudeau are also set to discuss business opportunities in the automotive and mining sectors, as well as support for Ukraine in its fight against Russian invaders.

SOURCE: AMPE