Germany wants more Canadian LNG as it diversifies energy supply
The German foreign minister says Europe's market needs Canadian gas due to threats to supply chains from Russia's war and Middle East tensions.
Germany's foreign minister says his country wants more Canadian liquefied natural gas as it works to diversify its energy supply away from Russia.
"Of course" there is a market for more Canadian LNG in Europe, Johann Wadephul said in an interview with CTV's Question Period airing Sunday.
"We do have to diversify, not only because this Russian war against Ukraine, but also with regard to the situation in the Middle East, if we look to the Strait of Hormuz and also recently to the situation around Bab-el-Mandeb, we know that our supply chains are under threat," Wadephul added.
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He said Germany is looking to Africa, Canada and the United States for supply.
"We are looking to Africa, for instance, to Nigeria, but also to Canada and to the United States, this is true," Wadephul said.
He emphasized that the push for more renewable energy sources will not conflict with the need for LNG imports in the near term.
"No. I wouldn't say that, because that takes still some time," Wadephul said when asked if the renewable shift would impact trade in conventional energy. "And also, renewables are a thing we should exchange with."
Wadephul said Germany has "a huge need for gas," calling LNG a "very needed source."
Canada and Germany announced an agreement in May between Ksi Lisims LNG on British Columbia's West Coast and Germany's state-owned Securing Energy for Europe to purchase one million tonnes per annum of LNG for up to 20 years.
Deliveries from that deal are expected to begin by the early 2030s.
European officials have expressed strong interest in Canadian LNG for years.
In separate interviews in 2024, both Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and then-Polish president Andrzej Duda said they would be interested in purchasing Canadian LNG.
Under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, the government insisted a business case for those exports to Europe did not exist.
The government led by Prime Minister Mark Carney says the opposite.
Canada has one major LNG export terminal up and running, LNG Canada in Kitimat, B.C., which began shipping gas in summer 2025.
There are currently a half a dozen other LNG export projects in the works.
According to industry sources who spoke with CTV News, an announcement is coming next week on LNG Canada Phase 2, which will see the facility expanded to double its production from current levels.
A 2022 deal signed under Trudeau, the Canada-Germany Hydrogen Alliance, has been plagued by delays and missed its initial target of starting exports by 2025.
Leaders of both countries continue to pledge their support for the program.
Wadephul's full interview airs on CTV Question Period Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.
With files from BNN Bloomberg