US and Russian investments in the Ukraine war are beginning to pay off

“Look at this as an investment,” Zelensky told Congress, “not as a gift.” Raw materials, returns on investment in our mineral and agricultural products, and military opportunities will follow. But Americans already know that. For Europe, raw materials are important for green technology development. This applies to both fossil fuels and minerals.

Europe has neither. Neither is methane gas, now one of the planet’s most sought-after chemicals. For Russia, ice-free Black Sea ports are of military and economic importance. Sevastopol and Mariupol in Ukraine, Tartus in Syria. Odessa 2023 is on the wishlist.

Look for alternatives

Since the decommissioning of the Nord Stream pipeline, Europe has begun a frantic search for alternative sources of methane gas. It should switch to LNG. It is also known as methane gas (CH4) and ‘natural gas’. It is kept liquid at -163 °C. Transporting it to Europe requires LNG ships that can transport it in that liquid state. If you have a terminal, like Zeebrugge in Belgium, where you can inject liquid methane into a reservoir in the ground, heat it up there and transport it to gas.

However, there are not enough terminals in Europe. In a country like Germany, there is very little industry that swallows methane gas. Chancellor Olaf Scholes recently announced with pride that the first German terminal is already in use after ten months of work. A ‘Wirtschaftswunder’? Not really. All that was needed was the adaptation of a jetty at Wilhelmshaven. A special LNG vessel is permanently docked at that jetty. One used to regasify LNG delivered by other LNG carriers and feed it into the conventional gas network.

Good technology

The ship ‘Höech Esperanza’ is a brilliant piece of technology bought by Germany. It is manufactured in South Korea and owned by Mr. Hoch from Oslo. The ship is for rent 120,000 euros per day. Your gas will cost a little more, right? Finland has also installed one at a similar price: Prototype. The vessel is owned by Antwerp-based EXMAR. It was built in South Korea (Daewoo) and fitted with a Japanese engine (Kawasaki).

LNG tankers must travel back and forth and transfer their cargo to Esperanza or Exemplar, which remain stationary. The ship Esperanza has already built such vessels in China and recently launched in Australia as ‘not very environmentally friendly’. If supplied year-round, the Esperanza plant could replace 11 percent of Russian gas.

To convert methane from liquid state (-163 °C) to gas state (at outside air temperature), heat is required. It happens in sea water. Voilà, replacing Russian oligarchs with LNG equipment from Western multinational investors who are NATO or partner (South Korea) or members of the G7 club (Japan). The geopolitics of your gas pipeline has been changed by some well-targeted blasts and some lobbying in Brussels.

Great evolution

The evolution of the LNG market is evident Wonderful from. Over the next four years, tremendous growth is expected in global liquefied gas extraction. North America leads, followed by the Soviet Union and the Middle East. Qatar is a great supplier. Belgian state security must be careful not to expose expensive lobbying in Brussels. Otherwise, Qatar will operate LNG Crane for Europe Closed.

We are giving the country “Major Non-NATO Alliance” (MNNA) status, Biden said. This practically means that the US has military access with equipment and troops. ‘Occupied’ or ‘Allied’? Ukraine egg after MNNA! Qatar now accounts for five percent of Europe’s gas demand, but that will soon rise. Through long-term contracts or through the ‘spot market’: Buy cheap LNG floating at sea.

God’s gift

So blowing up Nord Stream was a boon to Western investors, especially those from America. “It creates new opportunities,” Blinken said. Super-earners ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Shell, TotalEnergies, Eni, companies from the NATO bloc are quick to tap new gas fields with ‘non-major NATO ally’ QatarEnergy. Super supplier Russia has no problem either. Its LNG supplies to Europe are currently increasing and already account for fifteen percent of total EU consumption.

Russian methane gas enters that ‘spot market’ without any problems. No wonder our stocks are full. If Russia shuts down its LNG ships from Europe this summer, we’ll have a problem again, the International Energy Agency said. An interesting feature of LNG ships is the possibility of switching from methane gas (CH4) to hydrogen gas (H2). Green hydrogen, of course, is obtained through electrolysis of water with electricity, generated by ‘sustainable’ energy sources such as wind and the sun. The released hydrogen gas is cooled to -253 °C, liquefying it.

It’s a matter of completely redesigning all the installations and boats you use to transport LNG gas to hydrogen. However, that gas is much more expensive than LNG. But it is a good alternative. And…unless batteries can be designed faster with cheaper materials, investors’ hopes will rest on engines burning expensive green hydrogen. They can also be used for heavy work (boats, cargo transport, …). Electrochemists and technologists have already come a long way. The game of geopolitical chess offers interesting products.