UAE and Qatar report gas demand for a long time
2023.01.14 09:37
UAE and Qatar report gas demand for a long time
By Ray Johnson
Budrigannews.com – During the global energy transition, the energy ministers of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates stated on Saturday that the world will require more investment to ensure supply security and affordable prices.
At the Atlantic Council Global Energy Summit, Qatari state minister for energy Saad al-Kaabi stated that prices had decreased as a result of a mild winter in Europe, but that volatility would continue “for some time to come” due to the lack of gas entering the market until 2025.
He stated, “The problem is what will happen when they (Europe) want to replenish their storages this year and the next.”
Later, Kaabi told reporters that Qatar, which is working to increase its gas output, would not divert large quantities of gas to Europe “but there is a limit to what we can do.”
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) production is a major industry in Qatar. As Europe seeks to replace Russian energy imports following supply cuts as a result of Western sanctions placed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates—an OPEC oil producer—is increasing its focus on the gas market.
The minister from Qatar stated that he was of the opinion that Russia’s gas would eventually return to Europe.
Speaking on the same panel in Abu Dhabi, UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei agreed that “for a very long time, gas will be there.” He also said that while more renewable energy would be installed, more money needed to be invested in gas as a base load.
Mazrouei stated, “The whole world needs to think about resources and how to enable companies to produce more gas to make it affordable and available.”
Kaabi said that some people in the West were being unfair by saying that African countries shouldn’t drill for oil and gas because it was important for their economies and the world needed more of it as part of its green energy push.
According to Mazrouei, many nations’ “unclear” strategy made it difficult for them to commit to long-term gas contracts, making it difficult for energy companies to obtain financing to invest in expanding production capacity.
Germany signed a 15-year supply agreement with Qatar LNG last year, the first of its kind to Europe from Qatar’s North Field expansion project, as competition for LNG grew. QatarEnergy had agreed to supply China’s Sinopec (OTC:) for 27 years.
Kaabi, who is also the CEO of QatarEnergy, stated that numerous global players were participating in negotiations.
He stated, “There are a lot of buyers from Europe and Asia, and there is a possibility that the entire Qatar expansion will be sold out by the end of the year.”
Six LNG trains are included in Qatar’s two-phase North Field expansion plan, increasing its liquefaction capacity from 77 million tonnes annually to 126 million tonnes by 2027.
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