By Andrew Mills and Yousef Saba
DOHA (Reuters) – Qatar is not concerned about newly-elected U.S. President Donald Trump’s promise to lift the limit on liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said on Saturday, and added that his country can handle any competition.
“And you know that even if you open up LNG and say we’re going to export another 300 million tonnes from the US or 500 million tonnes from the US, all these projects are driven by private companies looking at the commercial viability of projects,” Kaabi, who is also the CEO of state-owned QatarEnergy, said this during the Doha Forum.
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Asked about the impact of Trump’s return to the White House on Qatar-US relations, especially in the energy field, Kaabi said oil and gas projects are multi-decade plans and “survive governments”, but added later added that he thought Trump was “good for business.” .
Kaabi said the European Union should thoroughly review the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which requires larger 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 amount to up to 5% of a company’s total global turnover, adding that this would have far-reaching complications and would hurt companies in the bloc as well as those operating there.
“So for me, my message to Europe and to the European Commission is: are you telling us that I don’t want your LNG in the EU? Because I am certainly not going to supply the EU with LNG to support their power and energy needs. and then be punished because my entire income worldwide goes to the EU. So something is wrong,” he said.
He also said the Qatar Investment Authority, the estimated $510 billion sovereign wealth fund, and other institutional investors would consider investing elsewhere to avoid fines.
“The EU economies are not doing great, so they need foreign direct investment and they need support,” he said.
(Reporting by Andrew Mills and Yousef Saba. Writing by Yousef Saba and Menna Alaa El Din. Editing by Mark Potter)
