Qatar Threatens EU Gas Supply Amid Corruption Probe
Qatar has threatened the European Union with withholding gas exports amid an investigation of the Belgian authorities into allegations of corruption in the European Parliament that led to the suspension of Qatar’s access to the EP. Euractiv reports that, according to a statement made by a diplomatic representative of the Qatari government, the Belgian authorities were acting on “inaccurate” information in their investigation. Last week, the Belgian authorities charged four people with corruption, alleging they received money and gifts from a Gulf state in order to influence decisions made by the European Parliament. One of those charged was reportedly Greek MEP Eva Kaili, who was quickly dismissed from her position as vice president of the European Parliament and ousted from her party, Greece’s PASOK. The prosecutors, Reuters reported, said that they had been harboring suspicions about a Gulf state was trying to influence EP decisions but never named the state. An unnamed Reuters source said it was Qatar. “Any association of the Qatari government with the reported claims is baseless and gravely misinformed,” a Qatari government source said at the time. Now, the Qatari government’s statement said the Gulf state rejected all accusations of any involvement in the corruption scheme and noted that “Qatar was not the only party named in the investigation, yet our country has been exclusively criticised and attacked.” “The decision to impose such a discriminatory restriction that limits dialogue and cooperation on Qatar before the legal process has ended, will negatively affect regional and global security cooperation, as well as ongoing discussions around global energy poverty and security,” the statement also said. “Qatar has strong and longstanding ties with many countries in the European Union, and we extend our gratitude to those who have demonstrated their commitment to these relationships during this current wave of attacks against our country,” the diplomat also said.
Scholz Inaugurates 1st Liquefied Gas Terminal In Germany
Chancellor Scholz on saturday inaugurated Germany’s first liquefied natural gas terminal, declaring that the speed with which it was put into service is a signal that Europe’s biggest economy will remain strong. The top three officials in the government — Scholz, Economy Minister Robert Habeck, and Finance Minister Christian Lindner — attended the inauguration in the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven in a sign of the importance that Germany attaches to several new LNG terminals that it is scrambling to build following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The terminals are part of a drive to prevent an energy crunch that also includes temporarily reactivating old oil- and coal-fired power stations and extending the life of Germany’s last three nuclear power plants, which were supposed to be switched off at the end of this year, until mid-April. Scholz announced days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February that the government had decided to build the first two LNG terminals quickly. “When we said that, for example, such a terminal should be built here in Wilhelmshaven this year already, many said that’s never possible, that would never succeed,” the chancellor said at Saturday’s ceremony.
India imports: India’s crude oil imports shot up by 52.58% during April-November, shows latest govt data
India’s crude oil imports shot up by 52.58 per cent to $146.57 billion during April-November this fiscal, data released by the Commerce ministry on Friday showed. During the period under consideration, imports of coal and coke rose by 97.66 per cent to $37.25 billion. Meanwhile, gold imports fell by 18.13 per cent to $27.21 billion during the eight-month period. Electronics, chemicals, transport equipment and vegetable oil were the other items that saw double digit growth in imports during the eight months. Vegetable oil imports went up by 16.71 per cent to $14.28 billion. As regards exports, engineering goods (-2 per cent), cotton yarn/fabrics/made-ups (-25.79 per cent) and plastic (-9.66 per cent) recorded negative growth during the period. Exports of petroleum rose by 58.88 per cent to $62.65 billion. Gems & jewellery exports expanded by 2 per cent to $26.45 billion. In the month of November, the country’s exports witnessed a flat growth of 0.59 per cent at $31.99 billion. The trade deficit during the month widened to $23.89 billion. Reacting to the new data, the govt said it was regularly monitoring the country’s performance on the export front by way of meetings with export promotion councils as well as Indian missions abroad.
India to maintain status of Russia Urals crude top buyer in December
India has maintained for the second month in a row its standing as Russia’s top buyer of Ural crude oil, importing most of Russia’s loading of the resource in December, traders have said, in addition to data from Refinitiv. Russia’s volumes, as well as India’s shares of the exports, are expected to maintain an uptick for the coming months though there is a shorter loading plan for Russia’s Western ports, analysts have been saying. India accounted back in November for some 53% of Russia’s total tanker shipments, which is the highest share recorded. However, it is expected that this record will be broken this month, with India’s shares projected to exceed 70% of total loadings in December. India’s imports of Urals crude are coming in at a steep discount in light of the West imposing on Russia a gas price cap, though reports say the price reduction is even lower than the $60 price cap. On December 1, the European Union reached an agreement on setting a price cap on Russian oil at $60 per barrel, which went into effect on December 5. The Group of 7 and Australia also participated in the imposition of the price cap. The cap will be reviewed every two months to remain at 5% below the International Energy Agency benchmark. The G7 nations and Australia also agreed that same day to set a $60 price ceiling on oil from Russia. Starting from February 5, 2023, the European Union will be introducing a price cap for Russian refined products as well. Western nations have been trying to find ways to reduce Russia’s income from oil and gas exports since the start of the war in Ukraine. In October, the EU introduced the eighth package of sanctions against Moscow, which included a legislative basis for setting a price cap for maritime shipments of Russian oil to third countries. Russia had pledged to stop exporting its oil to countries that would apply price caps on its oil. Meanwhile, those who violate the price cap on Russian oil exports will suffer consequences under the domestic law of the jurisdictions enforcing the quota, according to US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo. The Russian Urals had high demand in Europe, as they have a short trading cycle, cheap shipping, and high yields, with many countries picking the Urals over many others and making them their primary source of energy. The Urals have fallen from grace, though, with the number of countries buying them projected to decline to just four. Russia has now sent at least 2 million tons to India as key market players expect the monthly volume to sharply increase amid further inspection of more recent shipping data. Moscow has struck gold, however, with the European Union excluding Bulgaria from its oil ban. That means that Bulgaria could become the second largest destination for Urals crude this month. It is expected that the EU member state will now be importing some 800,000 tonnes of Urals. Despite what might be believed about China’s imports of Russian oil, the loadings bound for the Asian giant remain low with only one cargo of around 140,000 tonnes sent as of December 16. It is expected that these numbers surge throughout the rest of the month. Another country importing Urals is Turkey, taking in just one cargo in December of 140,000 tonnes.