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Berlin signed with Qatar long term gas supply.

Qatar is to provide Germany with liquefied natural gas under a long-term supply deal that marks a big step forward in efforts by Europe’s biggest economy to wean itself off Russian gas. Under the two sales and purchase agreements signed yesterday by state-owned QatarEnergy and US group ConocoPhillips, about 2mn tonnes of LNG will be sent to Germany annually for at least 15 years, with deliveries expected to start from 2026. Robert Habeck, Germany’s economy minister, welcomed the agreements. « have to realise that Germany will be purchasing less if we want to adhere to our climate goals.» In this event, the companies «will have to deliver the volumes they have bought to other countries».

The agreements would contribute to Germany’s energy security «with a supply period that extends for at least 15 years», said Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s energy minister and chief executive of QatarEnergy. Kaabi added that Qatar separated «politics from business», referring to an apparent protest by Germany’s World Cup squad against Fifa’s decision to ban players from wearing «One Love» armbands in support of the LGBT+ community against Japan last week. Zongqiang Luo, a senior analyst at Rystad Energy, said the latest deals were «a sign that Europe is beginning to tire of Russia’s intermittent supply and is increasingly seeking long-term alternatives». While 2mn tonnes of LNG accounts for about 3 per cent of Germany’s annual gas demand, it will help fill the gap in a country that has been one of the worst hit as Russian president Vladimir Putin weaponised energy supplies.

Russian gas accounted for more than half of Germany’s supplies before the invasion, and Berlin is striving to build new import infrastructure for LNG.

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  1. Anonymous30 November 2022 at 13:56

    Germany is not in a position to be choosers right now. Qatar is not the best to do business with but right now it's a better alternative to Russia. Germany needs to think long term and do business with countries that are dependable and also countries that aren't known for doing shady things as Qatar is known for unfortunately.

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    1. Thomas30 November 2022 at 17:58

      Agreed, but like you said, they don’t have many options now. And they need gas now and can’t rely on Russia anymore. It’s not good that money is sent to Qatar which isn’t the friendliest nation around but it is what it is. I hope Germany can find better alternatives quickly and not change their reliance on Russia to one on Qatar. That wouldn’t be wise.

      Delete
    2. Robert30 November 2022 at 18:45

      @Thomas - I think they need to diversify and not rely on much from a single source. Maybe have 4-5 different sources for their gas supply?

      Delete
    3. Connor30 November 2022 at 18:58

      I know Qatar isn’t on anyone’s Christmas list but I would pick them over Russia or China any day of the week. Whether or not Germany should opt for other countries for gas supply is another matter. Why would you want to rely on a single place for something so essential? Just look at what happened with Russia.

      Delete
  2. Philip Martins30 November 2022 at 19:23

    I still can’t believe a country like Germany would rely on Putin and Russia for more than half of their gas needs?! It’s beyond incredible to me that this would or could happen and yet here we are. You can never rely on such a country so much as you can’t rely on Qatar as well.

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