:CANADA: Scholz And Trudeau Answer LNG Questions At Press Conference

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has kicked off his three-day tour of Canada by delivering a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

• The two leaders received questions on whether or not Canada is in a position to export LNG directly to Europe but refused to commit to providing LNG to Germany.
• Trudeau (not verbatim): "Canada is a major oil and gas producer and Russia's invasion of Ukraine has made it imperative that EU countries reduce their reliance on Russian oil and gas. We are in a situation in the short term where we can contribute. Canada will explore ways to see if it makes sense to export LNG directly to Europe, if there's a business case to do so."
• Continued: "In the medium-term and long-term Canada can, and will, position itself to be a major supplier of net-zero energy with a range of solutions from renewables to nuclear. In the long term we are accelerating our commitment to climate goals."
• Trudeau says that gas export requires significant investment in infrastructure which is usually placed close to the source of LNG. Trudeau says that LNG plants on the East coast which have the capacity to ship to Europe, "are a long way from the gas fields in Western Canada." Trudeau says that exporting LNG is, "doable" but the best way for Canada to help is "to continue to contribute to the global market."
• Trudeau says there are a, "number of potential [LNG] projects that are on the books which were previously [economically] unviable. We are looking right now to see if the new context makes it a worthwhile business case to invest in those prospects."
  • Trudeau: "Those are discussion that are ongoing right now between our ministers and various companies to see if it makes sense."