Qatar will supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Germany under a 15-year deal signed on Tuesday, as the European country attempts to replace Russian gas supplies disturbed due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
To begin in 2026, the deal will see Qatar sending up to 2 million tonnes of the gas to Germany through an under-construction terminal at Brunsbuettel.
The deal involves state-run Qatar Energy and ConocoPhillips, which has stakes in Qatar’s offshore natural gas field in the Persian Gulf that it shares with Iran.
Germany, which got more than half its gas from Russia before the war, has not received any gas from Russia since the end of August. The European economic powerhouse is now building five LNG terminals as a key part of its plan to replace Russian supplies, and the first are expected to go into service shortly. Much of its current gas supply comes from or via Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Germany’s effort to prevent a short-term energy crunch includes momentarily reactivating old oil and coal-fired power stations and extending the life of its last three nuclear power plants, which were supposed to be switched off at the end of this year, until mid-April.
