By Andrew Mills and Yousef Saba
DOHA (Reuters) – Qatar is not worried about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to lift restrictions on liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said on Saturday, adding that his country would deal with any competition.
“And you know, even if you open up LNG and say we’re going to export another 300 million tons from the U.S. or 500 million from the U.S., all of these projects are driven by private companies that look at the commercial viability of the projects,” Kaabi, who is also the executive director of state-owned QatarEnergy, said during the Forum in Doha.
Asked about the impact of Trump’s return to the White House on Qatar-US relations, particularly in energy, Kaabi said oil and gas projects are multi-decade plans and “survive governments”, but later added that he thought Trump “good for work” .
Kaabi said the European Union should overhaul the Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which will require major companies operating in the bloc to check whether their supply chains use forced labor or cause environmental damage and take action if they do.
Kaabi said the fine could be up to 5% of the company’s total worldwide revenue, adding that it would have far-reaching complications and hurt companies in the bloc as well as companies operating there.
“For me, my message to Europe and the European Commission is this: are you telling us that I don’t want your LNG in the EU? Because I will certainly not supply the EU with LNG to support their energy demands and then I will be penalized so that my total income all over the world goes to the EU, so something is wrong there,” he said.
He also said the Qatar Investment Authority, an estimated $510 billion sovereign wealth fund, and other institutional investors would consider investing elsewhere to avoid penalties.
“The EU economies are not doing well, so they need foreign direct investment and they need support,” he said.
