UAE would not halt Qatari gas supplies, insists Kuwaiti expert

It is difficult for the UAE to stop importing Liquefied Natural gas (LNG) from Qatar, especially during the high temperature times in the summer, Kuwaiti energy expert, Kamal Al-Hermi told Agence France-Presse (AFP) yesterday, stressing that Abu Dhabi needs Qatar gas imports, and that there is “no ready alternative.”

“I don’t see any threat to Qatar’s energy export routes. They will continue to its main Far East customers,” Al-Hermi added.

Official sources have reported that Qatar’s natural gas supplies were flowing as normal to the UAE yesterday, despite the worsening diplomatic spat between Qatar and several of its regional neighbours.

Qatar is the world’s leading LNG producer and exporter, with a total gas export of 80 million annually, which is nearly 30 per cent of the global gas supply.  Only 10 per cent of Qatar’s gas exports go to Middle East states, including the UAE and Egypt, while about two-thirds go to Asia.

The Gulf country is also a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), pumping over 700,000 barrels oil per day.

The UAE imports Qatar gas for about a third of its daily needs. Qatar exports about 3.1 billion cubic feet of gas per day to the UAE and Oman.

Egypt also looks to Qatar for a significant amount of its gas consumption, sourcing about 65 per cent of its LNG imports from Qatar, covering 10 per cent of its total daily consumption. Last year, Egypt imported 60 per cent of its LNG needs from Qatar.