The US is negotiating with Qatar to supply additional volumes of gas to Europe in the event of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Financial Times reported.
According to FT, Washington is also discussing the issue with several other gas exporting countries.
“We are trying to figure out what can be done to prepare for this development, especially given the cold season and the extremely low stocks of natural gas in European storage,” a senior US administration source told the publication.
According to another source, Doha is discussing the possibility of “providing long-term guarantees of energy security through the supply of LNG, especially given that Qatar will significantly increase LNG production in the next few years.”
At the same time, FT argues that it will be extremely difficult to significantly increase LNG supplies to Europe in the short term due to increased demand for gas around the world.
However, it is expected that Qatar may be ready to divert its LNG tankers to Europe in the event of an emergency, which could be a war in Ukraine.
“There is no magic wand. All this is very complicated and confusing. We are taking into account how the market works, how commercial terms of supply and the freight industry work,” the source added.
The Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov stated that the claims of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine are unfounded and threaten an escalation of tension.
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