Posted on 03/30/2022 7:17:54 PM PDT by SpeedyInTexas
DOHA, Qatar—This tiny Persian Gulf kingdom is emerging as one of Europe’s best hopes for weaning itself off Russian natural gas, in another sign of how the war in Ukraine is changing the world’s energy relationships.
Germany, France, Belgium and Italy are in talks with Qatar to buy liquefied natural gas on a long-term basis, said Qatari and European officials. Germany’s Economy Minister Robert Habeck flew to Qatar this month to announce an energy partnership and a commitment to build his country’s first-ever terminal to receive shipments of liquefied natural gas from Qatar and other gas producers.
...
Qatar is emerging as one of the most attractive options because it is in the midst of a $28.7 billion plan to boost its gas production capacity by 40%, or about 33 million metric tons a year, by 2026.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Maybe the Socialists should just run their own, local, Drill, Baby, Drill; Frack, baby frack operation.
Buncha retards.
Drill Baby Drill where there is nothing underground doesn’t work very well.
They don’t have nearly the reserves they need. But they could build nuclear power plants and quit worrying about Russia, Ukraine and Qatar. Instead, they have been decommissioning them, along with their coal plants, and becoming more dependent on imports.
Have they done the requisite explorations?
Russia is being reduced to being a slave to the Chicoms. They miscalculated very badly. For the EU it will be inconvenience in the short term. For Russia it will be long term punishment.
Europe oughtta be wooing Ukraine for favorable prices. All they gotta do is send in trainees to the western regions of Ukraine where there is less action & danger. It would enable the Ukes to fight in the east.
“Qatar is emerging as one of the most attractive options because it is in the midst of a $28.7 billion plan to boost its gas production capacity by 40%, or about 33 million metric tons a year, by 2026”
There’s an LNG terminal just started for Louisiana that will be a bit smaller, but also take until 2026 to start flowing gas, but will probably be a couple of years to get to full flow.
Together, they can replace about 60% of Russian gas exports to Europe...but they are complex and don’t get built overnight.
Finally, it takes a LOT of ships to transport this much LNG, as in the hundreds, since the cycle time between Cutter and Germany is about 32 days, with all but 2 or 3 at sea.
The Qataris are saying there is no such deal.
Hard to find information, because the search engines will only let you see the false deal articles, pumping up the bogus story.
But the stories are all a week old...
They have. They used to be independent, but they used up all the gas from the North Sea fields. They might be able to increase production for a few years, but not indefinitely. They have over triple our population density too.
There are large NG reserves in the Arctic, but Russia is trying to claim those all for Russia. Seeing a trend here?
We will burn through our own NG reserves within 20 or 30 years, and that’s assuming we double or triple our current proven reserves. We should learn from the euroweenies mistake and start building nuclear power plants now. If we don’t start now, we will find ourselves dependent on imports, and paying through the nose. Or going to war with Russia over the Arctic.
Yea, I had heard the same with Cutter.
But even if they do build out, you still have 2/3’s of the planet hungry for their gas. Europe will find a lot of competition and if they’re not willing to ditch Greta, they’ll be considered the lowest priority because their need will be unreliable (mostly when the sun don’t shine).
21 Feb: Reuters: Iran, Qatar sign bilateral cooperation deals as Raisi eyes improved Gulf ties
(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom, Lina Najem and Nadine Awadalla, Writing by Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Hugh Lawson)
Iran and Qatar signed several bilateral cooperation deals on Monday during a visit by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to Doha that he said he hoped would help improve ties with other Gulf Arab states.
Raisi’s visit, the first to Qatar by an Iranian president in 11 years, comes as the United States and Iran hold indirect talks aimed at salvaging a 2015 nuclear deal...
“We have today expanded our cooperation in the fields of the economy, energy, infrastructure, culture and food security,” Raisi said.
***Qatar has good ties with Iran, with which it shares a giant gas field...
Iran’s oil minister said on Monday that unilateral sanctions against members of the gas forum threaten global energy security and that Iran provided the best option for gas exports to east and west, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
Iran has faced gas shortages at home because of record high consumption, particularly for winter household heating, and has had to cut supplies to cement plants and other industries.
https://au.sports.yahoo.com/irans-raisi-hopes-qatar-gas-100051269.html
all this explains why Aljazeera, owned by govt of Qatar, is on board with the official western narrative:
28 Jan: AFP: Qatar looks to profit from Europe gas fears over Ukraine
by Tim Witcher
Tim Witcher
Europe’s fears of losing Russian gas supplies in the Ukraine crisis will loom large when Qatar’s emir meets the US president on Monday but the powerful Gulf ruler has no “magic wand”, analysts say.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani will ensure some kind of assistance, however, as he seeks a bigger share of the European market for Qatar’s burgeoning offshore gas production and to score valuable points over its neighbours in becoming the key US ally in the Gulf.
The sheikh, whose tiny country has increased its diplomatic initiatives to match its status as an energy colossus, has the Ukraine crisis, efforts to engage the hardline Taliban administration in Afghanistan and backroom talks on reviving a nuclear accord with Iran on the agenda for his White House meeting with President Joe Biden, officials said.
Gas supplies are one of the key areas that Europe fears could be cut if Russia decides to take military action in Ukraine.
The United States is also in contact with Australia about providing alternative supplies and could send more of its own production, diplomats said.
Australia, Qatar and the United States are the world’s biggest gas exporters...
But as Qatar has long-term contracts with huge customers in South Korea, Japan and China, there is little it could do to replace all Russian gas supplies to western Europe...
Qatar, which is also in talks with the European Union and Britain, could redirect a number of shipments...
https://news.yahoo.com/qatar-looks-profit-europe-gas-024231883.html
22 Feb: Aljazeera: Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Qatar: Who said what
by AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
Gas-producing nations say they will not be able to provide crucial replacement gas if sanctions against Russia affect Europe.
Qatar’s capital Doha has hosted a two-day forum of gas-exporting nations against the backdrop of mounting tensions in Ukraine, as well as reporting progress in the drawn-out negotiations to restore the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers...
The United States has previously asked Qatar to help Europe by preparing emergency supplies if the Ukraine crisis worsens. But producing nations say they will not be able to provide substantial amounts of replacement gas if sanctions against Russia do affect Western Europe.
Qatar and other countries have insisted that significant investment is needed in gas infrastructure, and that they need the certainty of long-term contracts to be able to guarantee supplies to Europe...
Russia currently accounts for 40 percent of gas used in Europe, and Qatar five percent.
Russian Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov made no reference to the Ukraine tensions but told the forum that “Russian companies are fully committed to existing contracts” for gas supplies...
Tehran has high capacity for gas production for domestic use and a high and growing capacity for exports, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said...
Raisi said his country wanted to increase production and exports but was being held back by what he called “cruel and unnatural” US sanctions against his country...
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/22/what-was-said-at-gas-exporting-countries-forum
Gas from Algeria would be of shorter distance to Europe.
FR needs to get some facts understood.
1) Natgas is not infinite. When you hear talk of a new field, which isn’t all that common nowadays, always be aware that gas empties fast. Just like shale oil wells. They go empty very fast.
2) Chinese Natgas consumption last year rose 16%. In one year. Previous years had also see double digit growth. If Qatar actually can increase output 40% (and notice the careful wording of the announcement, they said capacity, not production) then China will eat it up. No reason to think Europe gets it. China and India both grow consumption hugely.
3) LNG will always cost 2-3X what piped gas costs. That is reality and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Russia will always be able to undercut the alternatives. Expect Europe to talk tough but when it comes time to acquire gas, it won’t be from the hundreds upon hundreds of ships that would be reqd.
4) Face it. The sooner you do, the easier it gets. Russia has the leverage. There is nothing anyone can do about this.
Trump told Angela Merkle some years ago to buy LNG from the USA. She failed in wisdom.
Meanwhile China, Afghanistan and Pakistan will jointly extend the China Pakistan Economic Corridor to include Afghanistan - regional connectivity.
This is also partly why US wants Imran Khan removed in a soft coup in Pakistan.
Let the Russians sell to China.
China will eventually just take Siberia and its resources. They consider it Chinese territory, like the islands that belong to Vietnam and Philippines.
The europeans really have dumb leadership and have had poor leadership for centuries.
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