BERLIN/DOHA: Germany and Qatar are negotiating a long-term energy partnership, government officials from both sides said yesterday, as Europe's biggest economy seeks to become less dependent on Russian energy sources.
Germany said a partnership had been clinched, but Qatar stopped short of saying a deal had been finalised.
Russia is the largest supplier of gas to Germany, and German Economy Minister Robert Habeck has launched several initiatives to lessen his country's energy dependence on Russia since it invaded its neighbour Ukraine.
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani received Habeck yesterday and the two discussed ways to enhance bilateral relations, particularly in the energy sector, the Emiri court said in a statement yesterday.
Qatar said companies from both countries “would re-engage and progress discussions on long term LNG supplies,“ according to a statement by QatarEnergy, the state-owned oil and gas firm.
A spokesperson for the German economics ministry in Berlin confirmed that a deal had been finalised. “The companies that have come to Qatar with (Habeck) will now enter into contract negotiations with the Qatari side,” the spokesperson said.
In a statement, Qatar said that for years it had sought to supply Germany but discussions never led to concrete agreements.
Germany has recently announced plans to build two LNG terminals. With no terminals currently, Germany cannot receive direct shipments of LNG from Qatar.
Habeck also met Qatari Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi in Doha, where they discussed energy relations and cooperation between Qatar, one of the world's top natural gas exporters, and Germany and ways to enhance them, according to a statement from Al-Kaabi.
Ahead of his trip, which also includes a visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Habeck told Deutschlandfunk radio that Germany had major concerns over securing supplies for next winter.
“If we do not obtain more gas next winter and if deliveries from Russia were to be cut then we would not have enough gas to heat all our houses and keep all our industry going,” he warned.
Habeck, also minister for climate affairs, has already recently visited another gas powerhouse Norway, as well as current top global exporter the United States.
In a separate development, Japan yesterday urged the UAE to pump more oil to calm markets rocked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the latest major consumer to lobby Gulf producers.
The plea by Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi came during meetings with Emirati officials which coincided with a visit by Germany's economy minister, three weeks into the Russian offensive.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also flew to the UAE and Saudi Arabia to push for more oil this week in a bid to ease prices of over US$100 a barrel and secure non-Russian supplies.
Hayashi asked “the UAE to contribute to the stabilisation of the international oil market by supplying a greater amount of oil, securing spare productive capacity as a leading member of Opec+”, a Japanese foreign ministry spokesperson told an online briefing.
The UAE supplies about a third of Japan's oil imports.
There was no promise of more production from the UAE, which has stressed its alignment with the Opec+ oil alliance that includes Russia.
Hayashi's talks with UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Industry Minister Sultan Al Jaber come after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made the same request in phone calls with the Emirati and Saudi leadership this week.
Analysts say oil producers don't have the spare capacity to replace Russian exports, and are reluctant to cause a rift with their Opec+ partner. They also fear creating market panic if all reserve capacity is used up, analyst Amena Baker from Energy Intelligence told AFP this month. – Reuters, AFP