It is not easy for German Chancellor to "seek gas" in the Middle East
【Reporter Connection】
The leak of the "North Stream" natural gas pipeline is still fermenting, and no matter what the truth of the accident is, it will have a serious impact on Europe's energy supply.
Shortly before the accident, German Chancellor Scholz paid a visit to three Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. natural gas supply.
The EU's massive sanctions against Russia have been backfired after the Ukraine crisis escalated.
Russia has cut off gas supplies to Europe, exacerbating Europe's energy crisis and dealing an unprecedented blow to Germany.
Obviously, quickly finding a gas source to deal with the coming winter has become the most important job for German politicians from top to bottom.
Harmonious atmosphere is hard to find
On September 25, local time, German Chancellor Scholz arrived in Doha, the capital of Qatar, for an official visit.
He held meetings with Qatar's head of state, Emir Tamim, and Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Kabi, focusing on consultations on German imports of more natural gas from Qatar.
Talks between the two sides are deepening, Emir Tamim said after meeting Scholz.
Qatar has expanded its natural gas production as Qatar realizes the growing demand.
Scholz said he had spoken to Emir Tamim about LNG deliveries.
But he did not provide more details, let alone sign the relevant contract.
Qatar has the world's third-largest natural gas reserves after Russia and Iran, and its LNG production and exports have long been among the top in the world.
After the escalation of the situation in Ukraine, many European countries and parties are looking for an alternative supplier of Russian natural gas, and Qatar natural gas is therefore favored.
However, since the beginning of this year, dignitaries from many European countries have visited Qatar to "seek qi", and they have basically returned with bad luck.
Qatar's Emir Tamim visited Germany in May this year, and the two countries signed a statement on deepening their energy partnership.
However, the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on the supply of natural gas due to disagreements over issues such as contract duration and natural gas prices.
In order to "de-Russify", German Economy Minister Habeck had already visited Qatar in person as early as March to "beg for mercy".
Unfortunately, Qatar could not free up excess production to supply Germany for a while, and Qatar hopes to sign a long-term gas supply agreement with Germany, but Habeck's Green Party, because of its climate goals, advocates that Germany use Qatar's natural gas to solve its urgent needs in the short term.
Whether Qatar will accept Germany's vision of using its LNG as a transitional energy source is uncertain.
Despite the amicable atmosphere of the talks, Habeck did not bring a cubic meter of gas to Germany from the Middle East.
It is reported that due to capacity and infrastructure reasons, even if Qatar provides LNG, it will not be able to supply Germany until several years at the earliest.
Prime Minister's "Energy Salesman"
Although Scholz also failed to secure a contract from his biggest target, Qatar, in this visit, he made some gains in the visit to the UAE.
The UAE has agreed to supply Germany with the first batch of liquefied natural gas this year, according to German media reports.
Essen, Germany-based energy group RWE and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company signed a contract in the presence of the leaders of the two countries to deliver more than 137,000 cubic meters of LNG.
Ordinary people don’t actually know from the numbers that this amount is actually less than the one-day delivery of Russia’s Nord Stream-1 natural gas pipeline to Germany on February 1.
But in any case, Scholz did not come home empty-handed this time.
The numbers are relatively small, but at least it’s a start, and it’s more symbolic: the first LNG shipments from the UAE are scheduled to arrive at the new LNG terminal near Hamburg, Germany, at the end of December, at least not by then. The feared embarrassing scene of being out of breath will keep many Germans warm in the cold winter.
The German and UAE governments also wrote in a joint statement that "state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has reserved some other LNG products exclusively for German customers in 2023".
In addition, the UAE state-owned company has also signed a corresponding agreement with the German state energy company Hoyer of Lower Saxony, saying it will supply it with up to 250,000 tons of diesel fuel per month starting in 2023.
In fact, the visit to the three Gulf countries was not a political dream trip for Scholz.
But the reality of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict forces him to do whatever it takes to prevent Germany's energy supply from collapsing in the winter.
With the current unfavorable opinion polls for Germany's coalition government, he must ensure that the price of electricity and heat does not tear society apart or endanger the entire economy and industrial sector.
For this purpose, Scholz has traveled to Canada, Africa and Norway several times, becoming a prime minister-level "energy salesman".
Officials at all levels of the German federal government, including him, have been non-stop for six months trying to secure additional LNG supplies from the Gulf.
Scholz was confirmed to be infected with the new crown virus after returning to Berlin on the 26th and had to be isolated at home, but he finally did not work in vain this time.
The UAE has the world's seventh-largest proven natural gas reserves at around 6 trillion cubic meters, according to the U.S. energy agency EIA.
To date, the UAE's liquefied gas exports have mainly been to Asia.
In order to expand gas production in the Gulf countries, Scholz urged the Gulf countries to increase infrastructure investment during his visit to ensure that the world's production of liquefied natural gas develops to the extent that it can meet the existing high demand.
"This way Europe can break away from its energy dependence on Russia." At the same time, Scholz emphasized that investment in gas infrastructure and cooperation negotiations with the UAE in areas such as IT are very important for future economic cooperation, which is necessary for climate neutrality. Economic transformation is also very important.
Because current LNG facilities can be used for hydrogen energy in the future.
"Pragmatic Diplomacy in the Desert"
Although Scholz has not brought more energy from the Gulf, he still does not forget to say that energy supply should be found from multiple countries, and should not rely on the Gulf countries like Russia in the past.
Reliance on a single supplier "certainly won't happen to us again" in the future, he said.
Before the Russia-Ukraine conflict, about 55% of Germany's natural gas came from Russia.
Scholz's "searching for qi" is also a routine "prescribed action".
The German media has long been arrogant in criticizing Middle Eastern countries in various aspects such as human rights and democracy.
By the standards of some radical German media, none of the Gulf states should be their energy suppliers.
In desperation, Scholz had to carry out his "pragmatic diplomacy in the desert" as described by the media.
But in order to resist the pressure, they had to act.
Scholz explained to the media that during the visit, he spoke to the host about everything he needed to talk about.
In Qatar, he criticized the treatment of foreign workers as the host of this year's World Cup, and in Saudi Arabia he allegedly spoke about the unhappy Khashoggi case.
But Scholz also made a high profile thanks to Saudi Arabia and the UAE for their work in resolving the conflict in Yemen.
Scholz's trip to the Middle East has also been criticized for "double standards" at home.
Radical environmentalists, mainly the Green Party, did not buy Scholz's visit, arguing that supply contracts for fossil fuels prolong reliance on fossil fuels and hinder the internationally agreed timeframe for the switch to renewables.
Some lawmakers questioned that Scholz's trip was of no use in easing the pressure on energy prices faced by the domestic people and the plight of the economic community.
Leftist MP Dagdren believes Scholz's trip could pave the way for new arms sales to Gulf states, and she even described Scholz as a "salesman" with "despicable double standards".
(Berlin, October 2, our reporter Wang Huaicheng in Berlin)