Berlin, February 13 - Neftegaz.RU. Germany will likely build 2 terminals to import LNG, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said as Oilprice reported, in a move to appease the U.S. while Berlin also supports the Russia-led Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which has divided the EU member states in recent years.
«Germany and the US share an interest in secure and dependable energy supplies,» the AFP quoted Altmaier as saying in a statement, on the eve of his meeting with U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette.
The U.S. has long opposed the Gazprom-led Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Several EU member states, including Poland and Lithuania, also see the new pipeline project as a threat to Europe’s energy diversification and as boosting Russia’s grip on European gas supplies even more.
Germany supports Nord Stream 2 and sees the project as a private commercial venture that will help it to meet rising natural gas demand.
Speaking at an LNG Import Conference in Berlin, German Economy Minister Altmaier said that all 3 proposed projects for LNG import terminals in Germany are being carefully considered. «I am quite optimistic that at least 2 of the terminals will be realised within a very foreseeable period of time,» Reuters quoted Altmaier as saying.
The German minister also stressed that LNG terminals and imports are a completely separate issue from Nord Stream 2.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Brouillette tweeted from the Berlin conference: «Energy security requires energy diversity - a diversity of supply, countries providing that supply, and routes for that supply. The US supports Germany’s efforts to increase energy diversity through the construction of LNG shipping terminals - hopefully a destination for US LNG!»
Author: Tsvetana Paraskova
