Germany announced an agreement with the United Arab Emirates for the delivery of natural gas by the end of December.
The treaty was signed on Sunday (25), and is part of the European country’s effort to diversify its energy supply since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, in a race against the arrival of winter – the country led by Vladimir Putin. it was responsible for supplying around 40% of Germany’s energy needs until last year.
The negotiation takes place on the second day of a trip that Prime Minister Olaf Scholz is making to the Persian Gulf region in search of energy alternatives, and also includes Abu Dhabi’s commitment to speeding up Berlin’s security in this area.
According to the German national energy company, RWE, the delivery of the 137,000 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas will be made through one of its floating terminals in Brunsbuettel, near Hamburg.
An unspecified amount of natural gas shipments has also been promised by oil company Adnoc (Abu Dhabi National Petroleum Company) to Germany for next year.
After the United Arab Emirates, Scholz still travels to Qatar. The day before, he had met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – his country is the second largest oil producer after the United States.
The meeting was criticized by human rights activists, as the prince, known for his repressive agenda, is accused of having ordered the murder and mutilation of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of his regime. Amnesty International, for example, said the German prime minister “should not be silent about human rights violations”.
Western countries have sought out nations in the region, marked by humanitarian violations, amid the Ukraine War and rising energy prices stemming from the conflict. The list of dignitaries who have met with the Saudi crown prince in recent months includes, for example, US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Since the beginning of the conflict, one of the main avenues of pressure by Russia in the face of Western sanctions has been the reduction of the flow of gas to Europe and the threat to permanently close the taps, in addition to the increase in fuel export prices, harming a Europe with historical inflation rates.
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