The United Arab Emirates and Germany signed an agreement on Sunday during a visit by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Abu Dhabi, which provides for the supply of liquefied gas and diesel to Berlin in 2022 and 2023.
According to the official UAE news agency, Wam, the agreement provides for the export of a shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Germany by the end of 2022, followed by the delivery of additional quantities in 2023.
The agreement provides for an immediate supply of diesel in September and an agreement to supply up to 250,000 tons of diesel per month until 2023.
On a visit to the Emirates today, Olaf Scholz said his country was determined never to depend on a single energy supplier again, as he welcomed the progress of diesel and gas projects.
The German leader has been touring the Gulf countries since Saturday in an effort to forge energy partnerships in hopes of replacing Russian supplies and alleviating the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.
In Abu Dhabi, Scholz visited a nature park with Mariam al-Mehairi, UAE Minister of Climate Change.
“We have made progress here on a whole host of projects related to the production and purchase of diesel and gas,” Scholz told reporters.
“Dependence on a (single) supplier and (also) dependent on their decisions will not happen to us again,” he emphasized.
“With the investments we are making in Germany, which will gradually materialize next year, we will in effect have a gas import infrastructure that means we are no longer directly dependent on a specific supplier at the other end of the pipeline,” the chancellor added. .
On Saturday, Scholz met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmane in Jeddah.
After the stop in Abu Dhabi, he travels to gas-rich Qatar for talks with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
His trip to Qatar comes a day after the country signed a major $1,500 million contract with French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies to develop the world’s largest natural gas field, which Scholz called “significant”.
“We need to ensure that the production of liquefied gas in the world is sufficiently advanced so that the high demand can be met without relying on the production capacity in Russia that has been used so far,” he said.
For his part, Al-Mehairi said that talks with the German chancellor will include, in addition to energy security, “climate action and economic growth (…), three pillars that must go together”.
Al-Mehairi also reiterated the need for “a just transition” worldwide from fossil fuels to clean energy sources.
Abu Dhabi and Riyadh criticize what they see as “unrealistic” transition models, which they say have contributed to the current energy crisis.
Source: DN
