German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit with President Donald Trump is expected to be a “working session,” a marked contrast from French President Emmanuel Macron’s elaborate trip, which came complete with a state dinner. | John Macdougall/AFP/Getty Images
Germany appears to be on the way to building its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal. The US State Department already released a statement praising the decision, which may partly alleviate US President Donald Trump’s pressure for Europe to purchase US LNG to cut reliance on Russian gas.
The cities of Stade and Brunsbuettel are battling for federal approval and hundreds of millions of euros in investment. They are located on opposite banks of the Elber River, just downstream of Hamburg.
Regardless of which city wins the project, the end winner will be Germany, according to Oliver Grundmann, Stade’s constituency lawmaker from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats.
Other sites, such as Wilhelmshaven in the northeast are also under consideration, after decades of reliance on pipelines to Russia, Norway and the Netherlands.
“The strategic relevance of diversifying our gas supplies via LNG is, I hope, by now a given,” Grundmann said. “The big question is who can build it fast and run it cost-effectively.”
There are numerous ports in Germany that wish to become LNG hubs, they were supported by Trump’s pressure on Germany to cut support for Nord Stream 2.
The pipeline project is still underway, and Germany fully supports it.
As reported by Bloomberg, supplies of gas to Germany from the rest of Europe are drying up, boosting Russia’s position as the primary source for heating, industry and power plants. Russia accounted for about 45% of Germany’s imports in 2017, an increase of almost 4% from the previous year, according to data from McKinsey & Co.
According to Grundmann, Germany requires LNG fast, with the need to switch from dirtier fuels after 2020. That is when International Maritime Organization limits on sulfur emissions kick in.
On Stede’s side, German consortium LNG Stade GmbH plans a terminal that will eventually be able to handle as much as 15 percent of Germany’s gas imports. It is co-financed by Co-financed by Macquarie Group Ltd. and China Harbour Engineering Co. and costing as much as $575 million.
As for Brunsbuettel’s project, it is a joint venture of gas infrastructure company NV Nederlandse Gasunie, Vopak LNG Holding BV and Oiltanking GmbH, bundled together as “German LNG Terminal.”
The decision to diversify Germany’s gas supply sources is an important concession, which Trump has achieved. He has been vocal against the Nord Stream 2 and EU dependence on Russian gas since he assumed office.
An option to diversify gas supply sources and not buy US LNG would be to improve the country’s pipeline links with Belgium and the Netherlands, more specifically with the underutilized Zeebrugge and Rotterdam LNG import terminals. The downside of such an approach is that the links would require the approval of all 14 German gas distribution companies. Which is unlikely to happen.
This follows the signing of a 20-year contract between Polish PGNiG and two subsidiaries of the US-based Venture Global LNG company on October 17th. The Polish gas giant aims to import up to 2 million tonnes of LNG from the United States annually over 20 years.
On the same day, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters in Warsaw that the deal, which is due to take full effect in 2022, would help reduce his country’s dependence on Russian gas deliveries.
The US pressure appears to be working as intended at least in regard to the energy sector in Europe.
This makes absolutely no economic sense. LNG is far more costly than piped natural gas.
Merkel is buying some peace from the American bully.
What America runs today exactly resembles the old Mafia Protection Racket: buy protection from us or your business will be burnt down.
It does, if they have Russian LNG.
America (Rothschild cabal) wants global energy controle. They buy cheap Russian LNG, and sell it expensive to Germany for freedom.
Yes, and in US dollars. It’s the dollar sales that are important to the US. Currencies are subject to the laws of supply and demand. If demand starts dropping, so will the value of the dollar. Most of the worlds loans are written in dollars, so if Fiji borrows money and the dollar goes up, so does the Fijian debt. If the US dollar collapses, most of the world will be almost free of debt. Kill the dollar, and save the world.
LNG will always be more expensive than piped gas, regardless of source. But of course Russian LNG would be cheaper than American LNG, purely because of transport costs.
This is some kind of Whool over the Eyes of the people. American LNG by default is 15% compressed Oxygen Just for Starters. Russia can lower the price of its gas by 15%. They to can play the F.U. game.. Just as good as America
Russia will sell to China. Ukraine will not have anything to steal and will perish. US and EU economy will be ruined.Problem solved.
Thank You, Its nice that Your country has taken a Pause from its desire to destroy White Blood. You Israel Britain and France. We see China for What it is. 95 IQ subhumans who hate the fact that Whites are everything that You want to be and everything that You Where. We can be allies and best friends, but You have to show Whites that You are better than us if You truly want an honest Alliance. Ask the people of China and Russia. Let them do all of the work.. Otherwise.. You know what Otherwise means.
Agree. America has been begging on its knees since Carter to be close friends with the fat lamb China.
But the Chinese have only showed US the middlefinger in their racial hate to rich successful dual citizen white Americans.
Actually it was Nixon who went to China, cap in hand, to stop the US bankruptcy that LBJ caused with his war in Asia.
Time to wake up, Asians are smarter than whites. When I was at uni, the Indian girls always topped the class.
allowing the US to compete is fair – and having more sources is only good for germany and europe. that, because they’ll be able to pick the offers with the lowest price – and in this regard we will see how the “US pressure to the energy sector in Europe” will work.
Qatari, Venezuelan !!.
Only dictatorships, terrorregimes and human right violators would cut ALL oil import from USA.
China wants to rule the world and think they are exceptionals but they are not gonna get it, as true as I am sitting here in Oklahoma City with my beer.
Well, Tommy, you should have a holiday trip to China to see with your own eyes, what is going on there. I propose to go to Hang Kong and travel to Shenzen. A week would be enough to get enough insight.
“The US pressure appears to be working as intended at least in regard to the energy sector in Europe.”
I’m not sure this is actually true, and seems to be mostly kabuki theatre. First some facts. Over the next two decades,
1) Europe’s natural gas consumption is expected to be flat to slightly negative. 2) Europe’s natural gas production is in decline. Production went from 258 bcm/yr in 2000 to 141 bcm/yr in 2015 and is expected to decline to 61 bcm/yr in 2040. A new source of natural gas of around 80 bcm/yr is needed. 3) Nord Stream 2 and Turkstream combined are to replace the transport lines through Ukraine. It will not allow for increased supplies per se. (that is why there is talk of a Nord Stream 3). 4) Europe currently has an LNG import capacity of 210 Bcm LNG with an additional capacity of 15bcm/yr still to come online, with a yearly utilization rate of 27 percent. (LNG import terminals are not a choke point). 5) The actual amount of gas needed over the next two decades is somewhat an unknown due to how many renewables (wind and solar) are built. Renewables are expected to increase significantly and to replace the energy from coal as it is phased out. How much it might also reduce natural gas demand is still an unknown. 6) It all comes down to price and Russian natural gas, both piped and LNG is and will be cheaper than US LNG. Even Qatar LNG is cheaper than US gas.
It raises the question why Russia did not invaded Ukraine long time ago to take controle of their pipeline, rather than now reinvest expensive complicated lines in Turkey and North.
The real problem is that there is almost unlimited resources of coal, gas and oil due to its abiotic source from heart earth and their pollution can easy be dealt with by engineering.
So we are back again on the Financial Worlds scams, limitations and managed from behind profit logaritms, from where we know their goal is global basic resources controle of energy, water and food.
I love your beliefs on energy. Don’t let anyone take that away from you.
But until that abiotic coal comes up from the ground, Europe is expected to decrease it’s coal use from 238 to 85 Mtoe and it’s production will also decrease by 100 Mtoe over the next two decades. If people were that concerned about reliance on Russian natural gas they would get behind renewables in a big, bad way, but nobody is that concerned.
I’ve got an abiotic gold mine, and an abiotic diamond mine. I have so much of the stuff I use gold bricks for the fence, and the diamonds are great for the driveway.
You do know diamonds can tear up your tires pretty quick. Plus you will have to defend your front yard from the neighbors.
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