Qatar threatens to halt gas sales to EU over new directive

Qatar will halt gas shipments to the European Union if member states strictly enforce a new directive targeting forced labour and environmental damage. Qatar’s energy minister, Saad al-Kaabi, said this in an interview published today by the British newspaper Financial Times (FT).

The new directive, approved by the EU in May, requires large companies operating in the EU to check whether their supply chains use forced labour or harm the environment and, if so, to take action. Companies that breach the directive face fines of up to five percent of their global turnover, Reuters reported.

„If I lose five percent of my generated revenue because I do business with Europe, I will not do business with Europe. I am not bluffing,“ al-Kaabi told the FT.

According to the minister, five percent of QatarEnergy’s total revenue—the company is the world’s second-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG)—also amounts to five percent of the Qatari state’s total revenue. „That is the people’s money, so I cannot afford to lose that kind of money—and no one would accept losing that kind of money,“ the minister said.

Al-Kaabi is also the chief executive of state-owned QatarEnergy. The minister said the EU should review the new directive thoroughly.

The minister also noted that he was not concerned by US President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to lift the cap on LNG exports. Qatar is seeking a bigger role in LNG exports to Asia and Europe, while facing growing competition from the United States. It now plans to expand its liquefaction capacity to 142 million tonnes a year by 2027, up from the current 77 million tonnes a year.