Gas Exporting Nations Say Cannot Guarantee Prices

Date: 22 February 2022 - 21:59

News ID: ۱۰۰۳۰۵

DOHA (AFP) -- Major gas exporting nations said Tuesday they could not guarantee prices or supplies at a summit overshadowed by the worsening Ukraine crisis which has pushed costs to record highs in Europe.
Qatar’s emir, who hosted the talks, said gas producers were working to ensure “credible and reliable” supplies, on the same day as Europe’s concerns over deliveries from Russia were further hit by Germany’s decision to halt the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.
The Persian Gulf state’s energy minister said his country would help Europe as much as possible, but that the unprecedented prices paid by Europe’s consumers were “in God’s hands”.
Leaders and ministers from the 11-member Gas Exporting Countries Forum met after Russian President Vladimir Putin formally recognized two breakaway regions of Ukraine as independent and sent in troops. Germany responded by freezing the huge gas pipeline from Russia.
With Russia a key member of the exporters’ forum, the Ukraine crisis was not mentioned in talks, officials said, or the final statement.
Russia’s Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov made no reference to the tensions but he told the forum that “Russian companies are fully committed to existing contracts” for gas supplies.
The United States has asked Qatar to help Europe if Russian supplies are cut, but its Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi said his country could not rescue Europe alone.
Russia accounts for about 40 percent of the European market and Qatar five percent.
It would be “virtually impossible” for one country to replace that amount of gas, Kaabi told a news conference. Qatar’s supplies are also tied up in long-term contracts, many with Asian countries including Japan, South Korea and China.
“We are supportive of the European Union and we are ready to supply whatever is possible from our side and the volume that will be available while abiding by contracts,” Kaabi said.
The minister estimated that 10-15 percent of shipments under Qatar’s long-term contracts could potentially be diverted.
But he insisted that the record prices in Europe had their roots in a lack of investment before the Ukraine crisis.