Qatari Minister of State for Energy Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi confirmed that European countries will eventually return to importing Russian gas, warning that market volatility could continue for years.
Moscow has significantly reduced hydrocarbon exports to the European Union after Western countries imposed economic sanctions against it in response to a special operation in Ukraine.
Al-Kaabi’s speech was made during his participation in the World Energy Forum, which opened in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi.
Al-Kaabi said in a statement: “Europeans today say there is no room for this,” but “we are fortunate in our ability to forget and forgive… and I believe that everything will come to terms with time,” pointing to the importance of drawing lessons and diversification sources.
“In my opinion, Russian gas will return to Europe,” he said.
Russian Gazprom’s gas exports to the European Union and Switzerland will fall by 55% in 2022, according to the company’s statement earlier this month.
Due to the relatively warm winter in Europe, European countries have been able to maintain stocks.
In this regard, Al-Kaabi said: “Fortunately, they did not have a very high demand for gas due to warmer weather. The problem is what will happen when they want to replenish their reserves next year,” noting that not much gas will enter the market before 2025.
Al-Kaabi expected the situation to remain “unstable for some time”.
Source: AFP.