MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/. Russia will continue making a significant contribution to the energy supply of Europe for several decades, Member of Wintershall Dea’s Executive Committee Thilo Wieland reported in the interview with the Gazprom’s corporate magazine.
"If we look into the future, then I am confident Russia will continue making a material contribution to energy supplies to Europe over the next several decades as well. Not merely because of the availability of resources but also in view of the opportunity to produce hydrogen from natural gas by methane pyrolysis or steam reforming, thereby contributing to the further decarbonization of energy supply," he said.
Europe cannot dispense with natural gas while internal production is declining and there is a concurrent desire to meet climate protection goals, Wieland noted.
"If we look at the map, it is easy to see that Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 as part of the Northern Corridor offer the most direct route to Europe. Owing to the decision on infrastructure expansion or upgrade, Europe managed to create a competitive and well-interrelated gas market. 400 bln cubic meters of natural gas were supplied to Europe over the Nord Stream since its commissioning in 2011. Therefore, the gas pipeline has already made its contribution to efficient, reliable and eco-friendly energy supply to Europe," the top manager said. New gas transmission networks are an important asset in the light of searching for viable solutions to build up the hydrogen economy, he added.
Blue or turquoise hydrogen can be produced in huge volumes from natural gas, Wieland said. "Both technologies of low-carbon hydrogen production: steam reforming with CCS [carbon capture and storage — TASS] and methane pyrolysis are an ideal fit to cooperate with Gazprom. Russia possesses the required natural gas reserves for decades to come and an appropriate underground structure for carbon dioxide injection," he mentioned.