Canadian firm Symbio Infrastructure said it has signed a deal with Ukraine’s oil and gas company Naftogaz to supply the latter with LNG and green hydrogen from its planned Energie Saguenay project in Quebec.
According to statement by Symbio, the two firms signed a memorandum of understanding on June 5 in Washington, D.C.
Under the deal, Symbio would deliver LNG and liquid hydrogen or LH2 to an import terminal in a mutually agreed European transit country, the statement said.
European “energy crisis”
GNL Quebec, a unit of Symbio and developer of the Energie Saguenay project is looking to develop an LNG import terminal in the port of Saguenay.
The firm last year joined forces with Germany’s Hanseatic Energy Hub, developer of the Stade LNG import terminal near Hamburg.
In addition, Symbio signed a deal with a unit of German engineering giant Siemens for the provision of engineering services, comprehensive lifecycle equipment and technology solutions.
However, the Canadian province of Quebec, as well as the government of Canada, rejected GNL Quebec’s planned LNG export facility in the port of Saguenay in July last year on environmental grounds.
It seems that the situation has now changed as Europe and Ukraine seek much-needed gas supplies.
“This MoU advances the stated ambition of the Canadian government, which has publicly confirmed its strong interest in helping Europe address its energy crisis and need for LNG supply diversification by fast-tracking relevant approvals to export natural gas from eastern Canada to Europe through ultra-low emissions LNG export facilities with the capability to export hydrogen in the future,” Symbio said in the statement.
Supplies could start in 2027
Symbio said the facility would liquefy and export 10.5 million tons or 15 billion cubic meters of LNG to Europe, equal to roughly 17 percent of Germany’s annual gas consumption or about half of Ukraine’s consumption.
The facility would deliver the supplies at “competitive prices” due to its short shipping distance to Europe and cost efficiencies gained from Canada’s cold climate, it said.
Pending the expedience of regulatory authorizations, Symbio expects the plant to start operations in 2027.
“Energy from Symbio’s innovative, net-zero, hydropower-driven infrastructure will provide competitive energy to Ukraine and will significantly reduce global GHG emissions by displacing higher emission energy sources used in Europe, such as coal, heavy fuel oil, and higher carbon intensity sources of natural gas and LNG,” Jim Illich, founder and chairman of Symbio, said.
Yuriy Vitrenko, CEO of Naftogaz, said this agreement is, “an important milestone on Ukraine’s path of transitioning to diverse supplies of energy from around the globe, which we began at the end of 2014, when we stopped the direct import of Russian natural gas.”
“Since then, we’ve fortified our energy independence by being an active player in the European energy market. We believe opportunities for procuring reliable, responsibly produced long-term energy supply from allies like Canada – and from Symbio’s facilities – by 2027 is critical to our energy security, transition and future economic prosperity,” Vitrenko said.