The U.S. will definitely export LNG to Germany, with only the question remaining as to when this will start, an article posted Sunday on German daily Bild's website cited U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette as saying.
Brouillette's remarks came during an interview with a small group of journalists on Friday, according to the article.
'U.S. liquefied natural gas is coming to Germany. The question is not if, but the question is when,' the deputy secretary was quoted as saying.
When asked about the biggest competitor to privately-owned U.S. gas, namely Russia's state-owned gas giant Gazprom and its Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, Brouillette said: 'I can assure you that U.S. LNG will be competitive.'
'U.S. LNG will determine the maximum price for Gazprom and others who want to sell here. And because U.S. LNG is here, Gazprom will not be able to claim whatever it wants,' he added.
The U.S. ambassador to Berlin, Richard Grenell, who was also present at the meeting, said Chancellor Angela Merkel personally assured U.S. President Donald Trump that Germany wants to buy LNG from the U.S.
According to Grenell, Merkel made these remarks during a conversation with Trump who said that he wanted to sell more LNG to Europe, and primarily Germany in the future.
At present, Brouillette and Grenell are working together with both German and U.S. authorities 'to remove all obstacles and get the necessary permits,' Bild said.
According to the article, it remains unclear when U.S. tankers can begin LNG shipments to Germany.
'The current schedule of the three companies working against each other provides for terminal openings from 2022, i.e. only three years after Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline is due to commence operations,” Bild said.
But Grenell, after talks with representatives of the companies, reportedly said: 'They are in a race to see who can help us get to the finish line fastest. It will definitely be sooner [than 2022]'.
According to the article, so far, the German gas market is firmly in Russian hands with about 60 percent of German gas imports coming from Russia, sending billions of euros into the pockets of Gazprom.
The U.S. administration opposes the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, which is expected to cost around $11 billion to transport 55 billion cubic meters of Russian gas per year to Germany via the Baltic Sea after it becomes operational in early 2020.
Germany, for its part, blames Washington for seeking to block the Russia-Germany gas pipeline to boost its own exports of natural gas.
Poland, Denmark and Ukraine also oppose the project, arguing that it would increase the EU's dependency on Russian gas while also contending that Europe should instead focus on diversifying its energy resources.
By Hale Turkes
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr