A worker at a gas storage facility in Gronau, Germany. Archival photoMOSCOW, 18 Apr. Germany does not intend to produce shale gas, as this will entail damage to the German ecology, quotes the Minister of Economics, Vice-Chancellor Robert Habek Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. According to him, for this reason, Berlin cannot quickly refuse Russian gas supplies «An immediate gas embargo will jeopardize the social order in Germany,» Habek said. According to his forecasts, it will take years to develop deposits and obtain appropriate permits. «It is difficult in accordance with the law on water resources, since this method of extraction can have negative consequences for the environment. Now we do not have enterprises willing to do this,» concluded vice chancellor. After the start of the military operation in Ukraine, the German authorities announced their intention to reduce their dependence on Russian energy supplies in the foreseeable future. Berlin expects to stop importing coal and oil from Russia by the end of this year. It is tentatively said that it will be possible to cope with dependence on natural gas by mid-2024. At the beginning of the year, Germany received almost 55 percent of blue fuel imports from Russia. Now this share has been reduced to 40 percent. From the point of view of Germany, LNG from Qatar, the USA and other countries can become an alternative to Russian gas.
