Qatar has issued a warning to Europe about disruptions in the supply of natural gas as the energy transition policies of governments stifle the investments necessary for keeping Europe flush with natural gas in the next decade.
Qatar's energy minister, Saad al-Kaabi, warned Europe on Tuesday at the Qatar Economic Forum that there would be a "big shortage" of gas in the future, mostly "because of the energy-transition push that we'd say is very aggressive."
Saudi Arabia's energy minister had similar warnings, accusing policymakers of having "blinkers" on, sharing a pie in the sky view of how quickly the world can rid itself of oil and gas as renewables step up to the plate to take their place.
Qatar remains a major supplier to Europe for natural gas.
Last November, Germany-Europe's largest gas market-signed a 15-year deal with Qatar for 2 MTPA of LNG, which will begin in 2026 through a wholly owned subsidiary of ConocoPhillips. It was Qatar's first long-term LNG supply deal with Germany. Despite the long-term supply deal, Germany announced plans earlier this year to provide its industry with billions of euros in support of the energy transition in industry. But its fund for climate action and energy security was some $13 billion short on funds.
Al-Kaabi said Qatar was "so busy" with "lining up people to negotiate with" over its gas expansion projects, North Field East and North Field South. Qatar has also considered additional capacity expansions for natural gas beyond 126 million tons per year.
Europe may have escaped major oil and gas shortfalls due to the exceptionally mild winter this year, but the "worst is yet to come" for oil and gas shortages, al-Kaabi said.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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Julianne Geiger is a veteran editor, writer and researcher for Oilprice.com, and a member of the Creative Professionals Networking Group. More