Canada sees scope for France LNG partnership, minister says

By John Irish

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Canada could pursue an energy partnership with France involving liquefied natural gas from its Pacific coast, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said on Monday, a day after leaders of the two countries met and discussed energy cooperation.

Anand said it was "quite conceivable" for Canada to execute an energy partnership with a European country using LNG exported from Canada's west coast.

"That goes for France," she said in an interview on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations.

French President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly called in recent days for deeper energy cooperation with Canada as Europe seeks to diversify supplies amid disruptions linked to the conflict in the Middle East and rising energy prices.

Canada, the world's fifth-largest natural gas producer, shipped its first-ever liquefied natural gas export cargo in June from the recently constructed LNG Canada facility in British Columbia, which is led by Shell SHEL.L and is the first North American LNG export site with direct access to the Pacific Ocean.

Anand said discussions on energy partnerships were taking place with countries around the world across a range of sectors including LNG, clean energy, wind, solar and nuclear power.

"Every country I speak with asks about potential partnerships in energy," she said.

Anand pointed to discussions earlier this year between Canada and Germany involving LNG supplies destined for Asia through a swap arrangement, under which Germany benefits from third-party sales rather than direct shipments.

"There is a host of potential deals and relationships that we can execute on energy," she said, adding that Canada was looking to match its energy expertise with the needs of partner countries.

German state-controlled energy group Uniper UN0k.DE at the end of July also finalised a 20-year liquefied natural gas purchase ​deal with Canada.

Asked about prospects for cooperation with France, Anand said the same logic applied.

Anand said energy would be among the topics discussed when she hosts Germany's foreign minister in Canada later this week, alongside critical minerals and artificial intelligence.

She said Ottawa was seeking to deepen ties not only with the European Union as a bloc but also with individual member states.

"What Canada is doing is deepening its relationship not simply with the EU as a whole, but with individual countries within the EU to ensure that our domestic population benefits," she said.