Qatar will stop EU gas exports if fined for due diligence, reports FT

In an interview with the Financial Times published on Sunday, Energy Minister Saad Al-Kaabi said that Qatar would stop shipping gas into the EU if the member states enforced a new law aimed at cracking down against forced labour and environmental damages.

Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence, approved in this year, is a directive that requires large companies operating within the European Union, to verify whether their supply chain uses forced labour, or causes environmental damage, and take action, if necessary. The penalties include fines up to 5% global turnover.

"If I am going to lose 5% of the revenue I generate by going to Europe, then I won't go there." Kaabi said to the newspaper that he was not bluffing and added that "5% generated revenue by QatarEnergy is 5% generated revenue for the Qatari state." It's the money of the people, so I can't lose it - and no one would accept that.

Kaabi, chief executive officer of QatarEnergy (a state-owned company), has stated that the EU should review the law on due diligence. He also stated that his Gulf nation has no concern about the promise of Donald Trump, U.S. president-elect to lift the cap on liquefied gas exports.

Qatar, one of the top LNG exporters in the world, wants to expand its role in Asia and Europe, as the competition with the United States, the top LNG supplier, increases. It plans to increase its liquefaction capability to 142 millions tons per annum by 2027, from 77.7 million. Reporting by Gursimran in Bengaluru, Editing by William Mallard

(source: Reuters)