Gas deal between Qatar and Germany stands – 2 million tonnes a year Credit Suisse shares fall below 3 francs

Germany urgently needs gas to make up for the lack of supplies from Russia. Qatar now wants to get in with liquefied gas. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2026.

According to Qatari Energy Minister Saad Sharida al-Kaabi, the energy giant Qatar Energy has reached an agreement on the supply of liquefied gas to Germany. The gas will be sold to the American company Conoco Phillips, which will supply it to Brunsbüttel, the minister said on Tuesday when the contract was signed in the Qatari capital Doha.

Delivery will start in 2026 and has a minimum term of 15 years. Up to 2 million tons are supplied annually.

Discussions about further gas deliveries

Qatar Energy is also in talks with German companies about further gas supplies, Al-Kaabi explains. “We have good relations with German companies and the German government,” he said. The gas for the agreement now concluded comes from the two Qatari gas fields North Field East and North Field South, which lie off the coast of the Gulf state.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) only said last week that the purchase of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Qatar is not off the table. “German companies are in very concrete conversations about which I could tell you more than I will,” Scholz said in a “Focus” interview.

Germany is trying to replace missing gas supplies from Russia, among others, with LNG supplies, for which several terminals are being built in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.

Deliveries mainly to Asia

Qatar is one of the world’s largest exporters of LPG. The wealthy emirate has the third largest gas reserves in the world after Russia and Iran. Qatar shares the world’s largest gas field with Iran, which lies off the country’s coast. The vast majority of exports go to Asia, so far mainly to Japan, South Korea and India.

The emirate and China recently signed a long-term gas agreement. Producer Qatar Energy wants to supply a total of 108 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the Chinese group Sinopec over 27 years. Minister Al-Kaabi said it was the longest gas supply contract in the history of the liquefied gas industry.

The first German LNG terminals are about to become operational. The gas storage tanks are now full. But liquefied natural gas should make an additional contribution, says Federal Minister of Economic Affairs Robert Habeck (Greens) of a “central building block for securing our energy supply in the coming winter”.

So far, Germany and other European countries have received LNG received via the Netherlands, Belgium or France mainly from the US. During a trip in the spring, Habeck attempted to establish supply relations with Qatar. The emirate reportedly wants long-term contracts. Other major LNG exporting countries are Australia, Malaysia and Nigeria. (aeg/sda/awp)