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Qatar instead of Kremlin: Habeck wants to stop dependence on Russia with desert gas

2022-03-20T19:02:49.744Z


Qatar instead of Kremlin: Habeck wants to stop dependence on Russia with desert gas Created: 03/20/2022, 19:54 By: Andreas Schmid Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck and Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Kasim al-Abdullah Al Thani, Minister of Trade and Industry of Qatar. Habeck is on a three day visit to the Persian Gulf. In Qatar he is holding numerous talks about possible energy imports from the Gulf


Qatar instead of Kremlin: Habeck wants to stop dependence on Russia with desert gas

Created: 03/20/2022, 19:54

By: Andreas Schmid

Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck and Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Kasim al-Abdullah Al Thani, Minister of Trade and Industry of Qatar.

Habeck is on a three day visit to the Persian Gulf.

In Qatar he is holding numerous talks about possible energy imports from the Gulf States.

© Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa

Germany wants to make itself more independent of Russian energy - and also rely on Qatar.

Green Minister Habeck brings "great" news from Doha.

Doha - The majority of the natural gas consumed in Germany comes from Russia.

The Ukraine war* has driven up gas prices.

Economics and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) is therefore constantly calling for a reduction in dependence on Russian gas.

Germany must make itself independent of other countries' "price and warmongering," said the Vice Chancellor on February 22.

Natural gas from Qatar instead of Russia?

Habeck's "great" news

Almost a third of “German” natural gas has come from Norway and a small part from the Netherlands.

The rest from Russia.

In addition to a stronger focus on Norway and the Netherlands, opening up new markets is also discussed again and again.

Currently in focus: Qatar*.

The Gulf state is the largest natural gas importer after Iran and Russia.

When it comes to liquid gas (also known as LNG), Qatar is even the world market leader.

This is also of interest to the federal government.

According to Habeck, Germany and Qatar have agreed on a long-term energy partnership.

Habeck said on Sunday in Doha after a meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, that it was "greatly" firmly agreed to enter into a long-term energy partnership.

The companies that have come to Qatar are now entering into deep contract negotiations with the Qatari side.

Habeck did not want to provide any information on the agreed quantities.

Habeck immediately sent a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin* in Doha: “If we might still need Russian gas this year, not in the future.

And that's only just beginning.

So if you have ears, listen.”

Liquefied natural gas (LNG)

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is used when there is no pipeline connection between the producer and the consumer.

Natural gas liquefies when it is cooled to -162 degrees Celsius.

It's usually more expensive than pipeline gas.

Gas from Qatar soon due to Ukraine war?

Problems remain

Qatari gas is not yet arriving in Germany.

Of course, it will take a while for that to happen.

The entire infrastructure has to be converted and Qatar's previous supply contracts have to be revised.

There are also problems in this country that should not be underestimated: "Germany itself cannot import liquid gas," explains Professor Anke Weidlich from the Institute for Sustainable Technical Systems at the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg to our editors.

"This requires regasification terminals, i.e. systems in which the liquid gas is converted back into the gaseous state."

also read

Habeck considers the current gas supply to be unacceptable

Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) emphasized during a visit to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania that a different economic policy is urgently needed when it comes to gas.

“The fact that Germany, the federal government, the public sector basically has no way of guaranteeing security of supply in the gas sector is an unacceptable situation,” said Habeck on Monday after a conversation with his state colleague Reinhard Meyer (SPD) in Schwerin.

Habeck considers the current gas supply to be unacceptable

Alternatives to Russian gas - expert on LNG in Germany: "We still have to catch up"

Can Europe free itself from dependence on Russian natural gas?

Thomas Peiß, analyst at BayernLB, explains the current options in an interview.

Alternatives to Russian gas - expert on LNG in Germany: "We still have to catch up"

Although such terminals are currently being built in Germany, they have not yet been completed.

They were politically and economically controversial for many years, require time for planning, approval and construction - and are expensive.

"Under normal circumstances, it is cheaper to import Russian pipeline gas than more expensive LNG gas," says Detlef Fischer, Managing Director of the Bavarian Energy and Water Industry Association in an interview with 

Merkur.de

*

.

Construction work on the lock island in Brunsbüttel (Schleswig-Holstein).

The port on the North Sea is under discussion as a location for a new LNG terminal.

© Frank Molter/dpa

Incidentally, dependence on Russia is particularly strong in Bavaria, as Fischer explains.

“The Norwegian gas is purely physically consumed in northern Germany.

Due to its properties (so-called L-gas), Dutch cannot be used in our devices (so-called H-gas).

We in Bavaria are currently almost entirely dependent on Russian natural gas.

That is the bitter truth.”

Fischer is critical of Qatar's plans and asks: "Do we really want to continue as we have been in the long run?

Do we really want to buy LNG gas from a country suspected of using it to fund international terrorism?” 

Meanwhile, a dispute over gasoline prices is raging in Germany.

Bavaria's Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger expressed suspicion about the oil companies * on Sunday.

(as) *Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-03-20

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