GLNG: Germany aims to sign LNG supply deals with UAE

Germany’s Economic Affairs and Climate Action Minister Robert Habeck said on September 19 that Chancellor Olaf Scholz was set to sign contracts for LNG supplies during an upcoming trip to the UAE.

Speaking during a trip to Lubmin, where new LNG import facilities will be built in the near future, Habeck said the UAE could help Germany diversify its slate of natural gas suppliers. He also voiced confidence in Berlin’s chances of securing a deal. “The gas offering is slowly broadening ... The chancellor is travelling next week to the UAE and will certainly be able to sign some contracts for LNG there,” he told reporters.

He did not say how much LNG Germany was looking to buy from the UAE but indicated that Scholz would discuss the matter while in Dubai. The chancellor is due to begin a state visit to three Middle Eastern countries – Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE – next weekend and will be in the UAE on September 24-25, he noted during a press conference.

All three countries are potential sources of gas, the minister added. “[The] government is permanently in talks with many countries, also with nations on the Arabian Peninsula,” he said.

He continued: “[It’s] not only the UAE. It’s other countries, African countries. In that way, we’ll close the hole that the lack of Russian gas has ripped open.”