Even if the promoters of LNG Québec continue to believe in their project of a liquefaction plant and an LNG port in Saguenay, the gas will not find its way to Europe, which wants to reduce its dependence on Russia, tomorrow the day before.
Accompanied by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, during his visit to Canada, cooled the zeal of companies trying to develop new projects to export Canadian gas to Germany.
“There are several projects that have been discussed for many years that have never had a business plan, a business plan that was entirely logical or viable,” Mr. Trudeau said while speaking at a press conference at Old Port Montréal.
The problem for projects in the east of the country like GNL Québec’s Énergie Saguenay remains the distance to the deposits in Alberta and the transport costs to the Atlantic coast, explained Mr. Trudeau.
“These companies are now examining whether new contexts, new needs from Germany and Europe are groundbreaking enough to move forward,” he explained.
GNL Québec is active behind the scenes
Although GNL Québec just received two denials from the federal and provincial governments, the company remains active on the file. With the war in Ukraine, the promoters see an opportunity to break into the European market looking for new supplies.
In recent months, the company has continued discussions with the Canadian government. According to the Federal Registry of Lobbyists, communications took place notably between President Tony Le Verger and the then Canadian Ambassador to Germany, Stéphane Dion.
GNL Quebec declined to specifically comment on Justin Trudeau’s departure but says the context is favorable.
« The climate-neutral project Énergie Saguenay […] continues to generate interest and is ideally placed to support our transatlantic allies,” she said.
Scholz-Legault meeting
Prime Minister François Legault also met Chancellor Scholz yesterday morning.
“We discussed possible partnerships in the areas of green hydrogen, batteries, strategic minerals, green aluminum and green steel,” he tweeted.
“We have no details about a possible new project [de GNL Québec] ‘ said spokesman Ewan Sauves. Reached by Le Journal, the office of Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon clarified that there had been no meeting on LNG since February 2020.
Although Canada’s projects are far from complete, Germany has confirmed that it is accelerating the construction of infrastructure capable of receiving natural gas from Canada. A green hydrogen supply agreement will also be signed tomorrow in Stephenville, western Newfoundland.
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