delivery to europe
Canada’s gas is enough for just one export facility
07/01/2022, 00:19
When looking for an alternative to Russian gas, Canada is a popular choice. Environment Secretary Guilbeault said the east coast only has natural gas reserves for an LNG plant that could supply liquefied natural gas to Europe. Extending them accordingly for export is a project “for years”.
In the struggle for an alternative to Russian natural gas, Canadian Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has specified alternatives for exporting liquefied gas to Germany, among other places. Guilbeault said Canada’s east coast has so much gas that it can currently supply only one LNG export facility.
Most of Canada’s gas production is located in the western provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. The construction of new gas pipelines is not very realistic, explained the minister. The fastest way to export gas to Europe would be through a facility owned by Spanish company Repsol in the eastern Canadian province of New Brunswick. Canada does not yet have an LNG plant suitable for export purposes, with only one under construction on the west coast.
Guilbeault said the Repsol plant could be expanded in the short term for gas imports so that exports would also be possible. This may strengthen supply in the medium term. “So this is a project that could be implemented fairly quickly, but we’re still talking about years.” When asked, Repsol said the company will examine all possibilities of expanding business with the plant. This included supplements for gas liquefaction.
Guilbeault stressed that the expansion would have to take into account Canadian laws on reducing greenhouse gases. Canada has pledged support to Europe. At the same time, the government also wants to achieve its net-zero emission target by 2050. Approving new plants for processing fossil fuels would do just the opposite.
Apart from Repsol, Canadian company Pieridae Energy is also in discussion for LNG exports. The group wants to build an LNG plant in Nova Scotia. The Canadian government says it has recently talked to European allies, including Spain and Germany, about increasing exports from Canada’s east coast. Guilbeault explained that Germany’s representatives had insisted in the relevant talks that the new LNG plant should be converted to a hydrogen plant before 2050.
