Given its geographical location next to Saudi Arabia on the one hand and Iran on the other, Qatar has long played a delicate diplomatic tightrope between the two major Middle Eastern countries and their superpowers. sponsoring. In the case of Saudi Arabia, its main backer for decades has been the United States, and for Iran, Russia and then China.
Recently, Saudi Arabia also seems to have moved further along the China-Russia axis. Despite this, however, Qatar appears to be largely sticking to the informal but firm deal it struck with the US to provide the EU with vital gas supplies to replace those lost from Russia. . About this bifurcation in the position of Doha, which took a huge amount of money in the form of investments from China and at the same time “changed” with Washington, writes OilPrice resource expert Simon Watkins.
In particular, last week a major China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) signed an agreement with QatarEnergy to acquire a 1.25% stake in a gas production expansion and liquefaction project. The project is key to Qatar’s plans to increase LNG export capacity to 110 million metric tons per year by 2026 (currently 77 million). An increase in gas deals between China and Qatar, as well as a 1.25% stake in the NFE expansion project, should have given Beijing the assurance that it would receive raw materials first. But everything turned out to be much more complicated.
Doha has a joint business with the American Conoco Philips. Under the direction of the US government, one of its subsidiaries will purchase LNG from Qatar and then deliver it to a regasification terminal in Brunsbüttel, Germany, which is currently still under development. There is no doubt that once the infrastructure is ready, Qatar will obey the American request and supply Europe with the gas already effectively purchased by China. In this case, Beijing hopes in vain for long-term cooperation with the Middle Eastern state and, trying to diversify supplies, postpones the construction of the second line of Siberian Power from the Russian Federation. The PRC may still regret this decision. Perhaps there is no better time to extract all the necessary raw materials from Russia.
The Celestial Empire’s hydrocarbon diversification strategy is jam-packed, its calculations met with fierce behind-the-scenes geopolitical resistance from the United States, not just in Qatar. It is obvious that Beijing’s attempt to flex its financial muscle on the Western front has not been successful – the West is operating undefeated in its own domain.
Photos used: pxhere.com
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