German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said that the Gulf States should not profit extensively from global sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. He was adding his voice to Western appeals for OPEC to increase oil production.
As the invasion prompted fears of supply disruptions, OPEC heavyweights the UAE and Saudi Arabia have resisted all Western calls, including from the United States, to use their spare oil output capacity to tame prices that have surged extensively.
Habeck, who is on a trip to the Gulf to discuss long-term energy supplies, such as hydrogen and liquefied natural gas, told reporters in Abu Dhabi:
”I’m not asking that they join the sanctions … but I ask not to be a profiteer of European and U.S. sanctions.”
In a meeting with Emirati state oil firm ADNOC, Habeck restated Europe’s interest in OPEC increasing its output which was brought up briefly.
After a meeting with the company, Habeck said:
“We haven’t talked about oil except for OPEC. In this respect, the appeal that the production volume be increased in such a way that the people of the world can pay for this oil as long as we need it.”
Talks with the UAE energy minister are expected to be held by the German delegation. Evidence of sanctioned Russian wealth coming into the UAE, the region’s commercial hub which company executives, financial sources, and diplomats have said has emerged as a haven for Russia’s rich was not seen by Habeck, he clarified.
The minister had spoken with Qatari officials about Russian wealth flowing into the country. Reuters’ request for comment from Qatari authorities was not immediately responded to. Since the Gulf States have energy and economic ties with Western allies and Russia, they have tried to strike a balance between them both.
Germany imports most of its gas from Russia and several initiatives have been launched by Habeck to lessen his country’s energy dependence on Moscow.
On March 20, during his visit to Doha, Qatar said the two countries would re-engage and progress discussions on LNG gas supplies while Germany said a long-term energy partnership had been agreed upon.
During his UAE visit, several deals on hydrogen research and development were signed by German firms, while Berlin was looking at hydrogen to reduce its need for gas, as highlighted by Habeck. He told reporters:
“Now, it’s a matter of agreeing on the big scaling.”
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) (ADNOC.UL) and Japan’s JERA, along with Uniper (UN01.DE) and Hydrogenous, will undertake a joint demonstration project for hydrogen transport.
Furthermore, ADNOC signed contracts with energy firms Steag, RWE (RWEG.DE), GEWEC, and German copper manufacturer Aurubis (NAFG.DE) to ship so-called blue ammonia – a low carbon method of producing the compound – to Germany.
