Energy crisis: Qatar eyes opportunity to strengthen ties with UK

Middle East Eye: Qatar is considered Britain’s best bet to get out of its energy pickle. 

Natural gas prices have surged, some 20 British energy companies have gone bust this year alone, and the United Kingdom only has storage capacity to last a few days.

“The UK is not going to go to the Iranians or the Russians [which have the world’s largest proven gas reserves], but to Qatar, which is third globally,” Hugh Miles, founder of Arab Digest, told Middle East Eye.

n early November, the Financial Times reported that the UK was in talks with Doha for Qatar to be its liquefied natural gas (LNG) "supplier of last resort". Four Qatari LNG tankers were reportedly rerouted from Asia to the UK to help out. 

“This issue of ‘supplier of last resort’ is PR speak," said David Roberts, an academic based at King's College London's defence studies department.

"When the energy crisis started a few weeks ago, it was presumed Qatar would step in with more tankers. That has been the case to some degree, and it is not entirely surprising.” 

The UK government, however, has denied it is seeking LNG contracts with Qatar. 

“The UK government has not requested or secured any additional shipments from the Qatari government,” a government spokesperson stated in an email to Middle East Eye on 15 November. 

“Our gas supply remains secure, thanks to a diverse range of sources at home and abroad. We have more than enough delivery capacity to meet demand.”

'Up shit creek'

Despite the government's response, a long-term LNG deal with Qatar is not only likely, say analysts, but inevitable. 

“If the UK doesn’t do it now, they will sooner or later. They have to," said Naser Tamimi, a senior associate at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI).

"The UK government doesn’t want to give the impression there is a crisis but if you see the figures, storage is low and everything else is low. They must be getting something from Qatar.” 

Meanwhile, the Qataris would be more than willing to do a deal with the British.

"Qatar would be absolutely thrilled to help, as they’d get good headlines and score points with the UK government and the [British] public," said Miles.

"It is also a life insurance policy - it is politics, Doha is not interested in just making money.”

Qatar has long been a key supplier of LNG to the UK, peaking in 2011 with 98 percent of imports. 

The UK then decided to diversify its suppliers of natural gas, with its over-reliance on the Gulf state summed up by Lord Howell in a secret recording on energy policy in 2012: “If it [Qatar] was to go into chaos we would be up shit creek, we really would.”

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