Hanwha signs MOU to support Newfoundland LNG project

South Korea’s Hanwha Group has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Canada’s Fermeuse Energy to jointly advance the Newfoundland and Labrador LNG project.

The South Korean firm will support Fermeuse Energy in the project’s development, engineering, financing, shipbuilding, and LNG logistics throughout the entire LNG value chain.

As part of the terms of the MoU, Hanwha will offer its expertise in pre-front end engineering and design (FEED), and conceptual studies to support the project.

“Hanwha is approaching Fermeuse Energy not merely as a service provider, but as a trusted partner committed to supporting the project from concept through execution and commercialization,” President of Hanwha Ocean's Naval Ship Division Sung-chul Eo said in a statement.

An LNG export terminal on Canada’s eastern coast is gaining momentum as Canada looks to build trade relations with more international partners, pivoting away from the US after Donald Trump’s tariff threats.

A facility in eastern Canada would provide a quick delivery path to energy-hungry markets in Europe. With the EU shifting away from Russian pipeline gas following its invasion of Ukraine, and the announcement in October that the EU would ban Russian LNG beginning in 2027, Canada is becoming an increasingly popular option for supplying the bloc with super-chilled fuel.

Meanwhile, in August Canadian and German leaders agreed to deepen bilateral collaboration on LNG with the Canada-Germany Energy Partnership, which aims to strengthen energy security.

Furthermore, officials from Greece and Latvia have already confirmed that they would be very interested in purchasing the super-cooled gas from Canada.

However, any LNG facility on Canada’s eastern coast would require a long pipeline to be constructed. Timelines also pose a threat as the LNG sector could witness a glut of supply by the time a new facility in Newfoundland could be built.