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Under construction: Arctic LNG 2 is set to increase Russia's liquid gas production by more than 50 percent
Photo: Novatek
Despite the conflict over the poisoning of the Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny, the German government is considering funding a new energy project in Russia.
According to information from SPIEGEL, the German export credit agency Euler Hermes may be helping to secure the financing of the huge liquid gas project Arctic LNG 2 in Siberia.
This emerges from a document from the French export credit agency Bpifrance.
Accordingly, the Dax group Linde is involved as a technology supplier in this $ 21 billion project.
Euler Hermes, a subsidiary of Allianz, secures exports to German companies or bank loans by means of guarantees on behalf of the German government.
The aim of politics is to support the domestic export industry in this way.
According to the document, Euler Hermes is expected to cover $ 300 million on the cost of Arctic LNG 2.
The Russian energy company Nowatek, the French oil multinational Total, and Chinese and Japanese companies want to liquefy and ship natural gas on the Gydan peninsula in northern Siberia.
Linde appears several times in the document.
According to media reports, the German company is to supply liquefaction technology.
Linde itself declined to comment on Arctic LNG 2.
"The Federal Ministry of Economics is familiar with the Arctic 2 project," said a ministry spokeswoman when asked by SPIEGEL.
"According to German law, however, all aspects of possible application procedures must be treated confidentially."
Government circles say that the decision on funding is still pending.
A federal guarantee for Arctic LNG 2 could spark new controversy around the German-Russian energy policy - in the middle of the conflict over the Navalny case and the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline. The Russian opposition was poisoned about four weeks ago and finally taken to the Charité in Berlin -Clinic.
Since then, political Berlin has been arguing across party lines over whether the construction of Nord Stream 2 should be stopped.
Recently, there were many indications that the federal government even wants to force the completion of the controversial line.
Largest liquid gas project in Russian history
It is still unclear why the government in Berlin wants to support the Siberian liquefied gas project.
Human rights and environmental activists denounce support for Arctic LNG 2.
"The German state is not allowed to continue doing business as usual in the gas sector - and to help implement new projects that even increase our dependence on Russian gas," says Regine Richter from the non-governmental organization Urgewald.
Natural gas damages the climate;
the state must reconsider the promotion of fossil energy projects.
Euler Hermes did not comment on request.
Arctic LNG-2 is the largest liquefied gas project in Russian history to date.
Its construction has already started;
According to the plan, operations should start in 2023.
After completion, an annual output of almost 20 million tons of liquid gas is planned.
This would increase Russia's LNG production capacity by more than half.
Icebreakers are supposed to clear the way for the hundreds of meters long LNG ships through the arctic waters.
80 percent of the liquefied natural gas should go to Asia, 20 percent to Europe.
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