“I believe that the question of whether we also buy liquefied gas is not worth it,” Pegel said.
He noted that the German government is working to build large LNG terminals for export. Ultimately, he says, it is about maintaining competitive options so that you can choose the price between the various products on offer.
According to Pegel, the United States has "special methods of LNG extraction, which are in themselves more expensive than natural gas, because it is more or less freely contained in the soil."
“Well, the liquefied gas must first be turned into a liquid, this requires a significant amount of energy, you will have to transport it over long distances by ship here to Germany. Thus, in terms of cost, it will probably be unprofitable, but nevertheless LNG terminals will be built so that we have competitive options, ”the minister said.
However, he believes that "the real fear of the United States is that their prices may not withstand the competition."
Commenting on the situation with the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2, Pegel said that the United States is exerting strong pressure on various companies associated with the project. According to him, shareholders and everyone who finances the project are certainly concerned about this situation.
“Probably, now at the bottom of the Baltic Sea there should be about € 10 billion, so that all interested parties have grounds to complete the project. And by the way, these foundations exist both in Germany and within the European Union, because we will continue to need large volumes of gas, ”he said.
Earlier, the EU opposed unilateral sanctions from the United States, including with respect to the Nord Stream 2 and Turkish Stream projects.