The quantity is relatively small, but at least a start: At the end of December, a first delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by ship from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) should arrive at the new LNG terminal in Brunsbüttel near Hamburg. The Essen-based energy group RWE signed the corresponding contract with the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) for a delivery quantity of over 137,000 cubic meters of LNG. Depending on the quality of the raw material, the amount corresponds to approximately one million kilowatt hours. “In addition, ADNOC has reserved a number of other LNG cargoes exclusively for German customers in 2023,” read a joint statement by the governments of Germany and the UAE. The federal government has been trying to get additional liquefied gas supplies from the Gulf region for six months.
The LNG terminal still under construction on the Elbe in Brunsbüttel (Schleswig-Holstein)
From 2023, the Emirati state-owned company will also deliver up to 250,000 tons of diesel fuel per month. The corresponding agreement was concluded with the Lower Saxony energy company Hoyer.
Scholz: Don’t create any new dependencies
During his visit to the UAE, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that cooperation with the Emirates in the energy sector would be further promoted. You have to rely on as many suppliers as possible for the energy supply. Dependence on one supplier “will certainly not happen to us again,” emphasized Scholz in Abu Dhabi. Up until the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, Germany obtained about 55 percent of its natural gas from Russia.
According to the US energy agency EIA, the UAE holds the seventh largest proven natural gas deposits in the world with around six trillion cubic meters. Your liquid gas exports have so far mainly gone to Asia.
With a view to the expansion of gas production in the Gulf States, Scholz explained: “We must ensure that the production of liquid gas in the world is advanced to such an extent that the high demand that exists can be met without the production capacities being used that exist in Russia.”
At the same time, the Chancellor emphasized that the negotiations on cooperation in the IT sector with the UAE are very important for future economic cooperation, but also for the transformation to a climate-neutral economy.
The Chancellor will also visit the Jubail Mangrove Park with the Minister for Climate Change and the Environment of the UAE
The joint government statement also states that ADNOC has made further agreements with German companies, including Steag and Aurubis. It is said to be about the delivery of low-carbon ammonia, a carrier fuel for hydrogen. The first of these loads had already arrived in Hamburg at the beginning of September. Both countries wanted to explore further possibilities for cooperation along the entire hydrogen value chain. In addition, the VAE company Masdar is to become more active in offshore wind farms in the German North and Baltic Seas.
Talks also in Qatar
The Chancellor then traveled on to Qatar. The rich emirate has the third largest gas reserves in the world after Russia and Iran and is the leading exporter of liquid gas. There are talks between the two sides that are being deepened, said Emir Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani after meeting Scholz in the capital Doha. Qatar has expanded its gas production because it is aware of the growing demand. Scholz stated that he had spoken to the Emir about LNG deliveries. “We want to make further progress,” he said, without giving details. Contracts were not announced.
Still not ideal working conditions
Scholz also commented on the working conditions of guest workers a few weeks before the start of the soccer World Cup in the emirate. “We take note that there is progress on issues that had to be fought for a long time, such as the situation of employees. Even if that does not correspond to the ideas we have ourselves,” said the 64-year-old .
Qatar has long been criticized for human rights violations and the treatment of workers from other countries. In the past there had been several fatal accidents on World Cup construction sites. The World Championship begins on November 20th.
se/yy (rtr, dpa, afp)
