Germany to cooperate on joint gas procurement mechanism: Macron

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
22 Jan 2023 23:40

The French head of state said that Germany plans to join the new H2MED cross-border hydrogen pipeline which will connect Portugal, Spain, and France.

Operators work at Enagas regasification plant, the largest LNG plant in Europe, in Barcelona, Spain, March 29, 2022 (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)

Following a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that Germany has agreed to cooperate with France on a joint gas procurement mechanism to develop long-term purchasing schemes and work on common platforms.

"We have decided to cooperate closely on gas procurement mechanisms in the coming years. We want to create long-term purchasing mechanisms and work on common platforms," Macron told reporters, adding that Germany plans to join the new H2MED cross-border hydrogen pipeline which will connect Portugal, Spain, and France from Barcelona to Marseille, and will then expand to Germany.

The pipeline would account for 10% of all EU hydrogen and is scheduled to be completed by 2030.

Rien n’est impossible si nous restons unis. Unis, pour les générations futures, et pour construire avec elles, nous le sommes.

Nichts ist unmöglich, wenn wir zusammenhalten. Vereint gestalten wir die Zukunft - mit den künftigen Generationen. pic.twitter.com/DnXMpxaUKz
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) January 22, 2023

On October 20, 2022, the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, said on Thursday that Spain, France, and Portugal agreed to build a natural gas pipeline connecting the Iberian peninsula to the rest of Europe.

The new project titled the "Green Energy Corridor" will replace an earlier one called the "MIDCAT" project.

The MIDCAT project emerged a decade ago and was then abandoned in 2019 as it not only encountered several regulatory and funding issues but was also contested by France for a very long time.

This announcement was made at the time when the EU Commission proposed to set up a platform for the joint purchase of gas, LNG, and hydrogen which includes mandatory joint purchases of 13.5 billion cubic meters of gas, which is around 15% of the EU states' total gas storage filing obligations.

On November 24, the press service of the European Commission announced that EU energy ministers reached a final decision on the joint gas procurement mechanism.