The Ukraine war, the LNG industry and the ramifications

Discussing the EU country arguably most dependent on Russian supplies of natural gas, Dr Kehler noted that gas remains the second most important fuel in Germany. And that, even with a broad and deep gas supply network and FSRUs in place, “Germany will still require molecules”.

In the short-term, Dr Kehler said the EU’s LNG-enabled shift away from Russian energy will be bridged by gas from the US but that gas is seen as a transition fuel in an overall move toward a renewables and hydrogen-based energy mix.

Dr Kehler pointed to substantial cooperation that has come into place across the LNG supply chain to ensure that gas storage is nearly full for the European winter of 2022-2023. But, he expressed an awareness of the need to address concerns of strategic vulnerabilities to major energy imports into the EU in the medium-term.

Mr Olislagers agreed that the level of cooperation in the gas supply chain in Europe has been remarkable, saying that , at all levels, collaboration between partners is driving forward a longer-term view of moving from pipeline gas to hydrogen.

“This will be an example for the rest of the world,” Mr Olislagers said. “Europe is taking the steps required and the rest of the world can follow.”

Answering the question regarding what might happen if Russia agreed to re-open the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany, Dr Kehler said there is no rationale at the moment to reconnect to Russian gas supplies. Aside from the political difficulties, he said there technical issues that would need to be overcome but that, if such a decision were to be taken, it would, of course, put marked downward pressure on gas prices.

Riviera Maritime Media has a comprehensive conference programme for the remainder of 2022 and will provide free technical and operational webinars in 2023. Sign up to attend on our events page