Equinor, RWE sign new gas deal
Norwegian energy company Equinor has signed a new agreement with Germany’s RWE for the supply of between 10 and 15 terawatt hours (around 1 – 1.5bn m3) of natural gas per year from now until 2028, the companies announced on October 30.
The gas will be delivered to Germany's virtual trading hub THE (Trading Hub Europe). The agreement is priced at market terms and is part of a broader partnership between Equinor and RWE to develop large-scale value chains to ensure security of supply and reduce emissions in response to the German-Norwegian Partnership on Climate, Renewable Energy and Green Industry.
The first step in the partnership is to invest in and develop new gas-fired power plants in Germany that are ready to use hydrogen as a feedstock as soon as it is available on an industrial scale in the country. These plants are also subject to the power plant strategy announced by the German government, which aims to create a suitable regulatory framework for new gas-fired power plants.
Key elements in the value chain will be the production of low-carbon hydrogen in Norway and its transport to Germany, which could help accelerate the development of a hydrogen economy. Gradually, green hydrogen will also be produced using power from wind farms along the pipeline route.