Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy and CEO of Qatar Energy is dampening expectations of gas supplies from the desert state.
(Photo: REUTERS (M))
Doha, Berlin The internationally sought-after oil and gas producing country of Qatar is dampening the expectations of Germany and other western countries that their dependence on supplies from Russia will quickly end. Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said at a conference in the Qatari capital Doha on Saturday that he doesn’t think Qatar can help immediately.
Nobody can currently replace the Russian supplies. The war in Ukraine, which has been going on for around four weeks, has fueled concerns about energy shortages in Europe and Germany. Germany is trying to make itself more independent of Russian supplies – not only with the help of Qatar, but also of the USA and other countries.
Al-Kaabi recently told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: “If you want to reduce dependency on Russia or other countries, then you have to plan it, and it takes years for everything to be developed.”
Habeck expects independence from Russian gas in the summer of 2024
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the Gulf States to increase oil production. They should compensate for the decline in oil supplies from Russia, demanded Zelensky, who joined the video on Saturday at the Doha Forum in Qatar.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
Al-Kaabi dampened expectations of the energy partnership between the two countries announced by Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck. There is a “clear will” to deliver gas to Germany in the future, but such a deal does not yet exist.
According to the Federal Ministry of Economics and the energy company RWE, negotiations are progressing. “As far as we know, the German companies are in very good and constructive talks with the Qatari side,” a spokeswoman for the economic department told the news portal t-online.
An RWE spokeswoman said something similar: “Thanks to the political support, we are in good talks with our Qatari partners.” Nevertheless, according to a paper published by the Ministry of Economic Affairs on Friday, Germany will probably need Russian gas for more than two years.
More: Alternatives to Russian gas and oil – Which countries with energy resources are now coming into focus