The Qatari Energy Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi has said that Qatar is yet to sign a long-term gas supply agreement with Germany.
The Minister made made the statement in an exclusive interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson on Thursday.
“We have not agreed a long-term agreement with Germany yet but we’re willing to discuss with the companies that we have been discussing to put a long-term agreement in place, potentially,” he said. “This is a commercial agreement between commercial entities.”
On Monday 21, Investogist reported that the a spokesperson for the German economics ministry in Berlin confirmed that an agreement was reached with the Gas-rich gulf country while the German Economy minister Robert Habeck was in Doha.
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Germany is dependent on Russian gas for much of its energy needs. More than half of its gas imports come from Russia, compared with an average of about 40 percent across the EU.
Qatar’s agreements with some European countries to supply gas are in the form of “divertible contracts,” which means its has the right to divert supplies to other customers, Al-Kaabi told Anderson, but added that this will not happen.
“We’re not going to divert (contracts) and will keep them in Europe; even if there is financial gain for us to divert away, we would not do that,” he said. “That’s in solidarity with what’s going on in Europe.”
The minister rejected imposing sanctions on Russia’s oil and gas sector, saying “energy should stay out of politics” and reiterated that completely stopping Russian gas supply to Europe is “not practically possible.” The minister also said that his nation is not “choosing sides” in the conflict.
he European Union wants to slash consumption of Russian natural gas this year as it prepares for a complete break with its single biggest energy supplier over the war in Ukraine. Its plan calls for tapping alternative supplies, including shipments of liquefied natural gas, boosting production and imports of biomethane and renewable hydrogen, and upgrading buildings to reduce consumption.
On Friday during President Joe Biden’s three-day visit to Brussels, The United States and the European Union have announced a gas deal in a move to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian energy.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur
