Three well-informed sources said German utility companies RWE and Uniper are close to concluding long-term deals to purchase liquefied natural gas from … North Qatar Field Expansion Project To help provide an alternative to Russian gas.
According to “Reuters”, talks between Germany and Qatar have seen disagreements over key terms, such as contract length and pricing, but industry sources, who have asked for anonymity, said the two sides should reach a compromise soon.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, aims to provide an alternative to all Russian energy imports by mid-2024 – a groundbreaking effort for a country that relies primarily on natural gas for its industries.
While the supply deals with Qatar will be positive for Germany, they will not provide an imminent solution to the Berlin energy crisis because production of the massive North Field expansion project is not expected to start before 2026.
Reuters reported in May that the talks had run into difficulties because Germany was reluctant to engage in deals for at least 20 years and also wanted prices linked to Dutch reference prices for gas rather than oil.
One of the sources said the talks are now more constructive than they were a few months ago.
Another source said the two German utilities are likely to accept 15-year deals, while a third source said a deal could be reached within weeks.
Qatar Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Uniper told Reuters on Monday that it was still in talks with Qatar, but had not reached an agreement.
He added: “(Uniper) is currently working hard to diversify the sources of gas supply and Qatar is also playing an important role in this.”
RWE told Reuters it was in “good and constructive” talks with Qatar, without going into further detail.
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