DWN: Germany’s attempt to buy gas from Qatar instead of fuel from Russia fails
Germany’s attempt to negotiate with Qatar for the supply of gas instead of fuel from Russia has turned into a failure – instead Qatari gas is received by Italy, reports Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten.
The writer recalled the March visit of German Economy Minister Robert Habek to the Middle East in search of an alternative to Russian gas. At the time, Habeck said after a meeting with the Emir of Qatar that the country was ready to supply more fuel to Germany.
However, Qatar is now not supplying Berlin with gas. The companies that accompanied Habeck have so far been unable to conclude gas supply contracts with Doha. This is all the more painful because Russia is now passing only one-fifth of its previous gas through Nord Stream 1 and Germany is experiencing a massive energy crisis, the paper said.
Habeck, according to the article, complained last week about Qatar’s reluctance to “make a good offer”. In fact, he only agreed on an energy partnership with Doha in May, without agreeing on supply volumes. At the same time, Qatar wanted long-term contracts, while German companies had decided to bet on renewable energy in the future.
While Habeck was rebuffed in Qatar, Italian energy company Eni was more successful, according to the article.
“After signing new gas contracts with our partners in Algeria, Congo and Egypt earlier this year, Eni joined the North Field East venture in Qatar in June, which is part of the world’s largest LNG project,” said Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi.
Like the rest of Europe, Italy is seeking to diversify gas supplies because of sanctions against Russia, DWN wrote. In July, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said his country’s estimated dependence on Russian gas imports was 40 percent to 25 percent of its annual supply.
At the same time, the author of the material recalled that, unlike Germany, Italy has been cooperating with Qatar for longer and is considered the largest importer of liquefied natural gas from that country. As a result of the crisis, the government in Berlin is now focused on limiting energy consumption, the article says.
Europe is on the verge of a serious fuel shortage because Russia’s main gas pipeline, Nord Stream, is operating at only 20 percent of its total capacity. “Gazprom attributed this to inadequate maintenance and a delay in the return from repair of Siemens turbines that were used on the gas compressor units (GCU) at the Portovaya compressor station (CS) to supply the energy. Currently, only one of the five engines is operating the trunk line.
A particular difficulty has arisen with the return of one of the turbines from Canada, which has imposed sanctions on Gazprom. The Canadian authorities did not issue a permit for its export until 10 July, but failed to take into account the terms of the contract and delivered the engine to Germany instead of Russia. Permits from EU and UK authorities are required for its further transportation.
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