From the energy war to energy diplomacy

Qatar cannot replace Russia’s natural gas supply. The Ministry of Energy told Reuters -since the beginning of this year- that it could only cover between 10 and 15% since it has committed its production with Asia through long-term contracts. This Middle Eastern country has become the second largest exporter of liquefied natural gas worldwide, which allows it to position itself as a great player, but not in soccer, but in the energy sector.

This information was surpassed by the events of February 24, a bloody date. That is to say, it occurred at a time that was not as crucial as it is now. I will highlight two events that were generated as parallel events: the war in Ukraine and the World Cup in Qatar.

Russia’s violation of international law by trespassing on Ukraine’s sovereignty and attacking it generated two responses from Europe: supporting and financing Ukraine, and implementing various packages of banking, financial, trade and economic sanctions against Russia. This fueled Putin’s fury, so he undertook a geostrategy of using energy sources as a weapon of war, knowing that Europe depended on 40% of its natural gas. Over the past few months, he has attacked power facilities, the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, and sabotaged the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines.

Europe is looking for alternatives to cut the energy “tie” it had with Russia, which is why it took on the task of finding substitute energy suppliers. In the case of Germany, Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz paid a visit to Canada last August. While Spain, France and Portugal reached an agreement to build the BarMar Gas Pipeline (300 km) to transport gas and then green hydrogen from the Iberian Peninsula to the rest of Europe. In times of crisis and global threats, energy diplomacy is crucial for those nations that are highly dependent on energy sources for the operation of their industries and to avoid “blackmail” from their rivals.

Before the start of the World Cup in Qatar, several public figures raised their voices for the violation of human rights in this country. It seems that in some cases, various political figures do it “in a way” since when it comes to questioning the World Cup, they criticize Qatar, but when it comes to obtaining energy benefits, they put international scrutiny aside for the issues of energy. non-existence of the human rights of women, of the LGBTI+ Community, of migrants who lost their lives, among others. However, China has also done the same in terms of energy diplomacy with Russia. The mega-gas pipeline known as the “Siberian Force” unites both countries.

While the soccer matches are taking place in Doha, three days ago the Qatari government signed an agreement with the German government that will be valid for 15 years, to sell an annual quantity of 2,800 million cubic meters from the year 2026. Although This does not solve energy dependence in the immediate term, it does depressurize the issue in the long term, since Europe has a clear goal to stop depending on Russia in all sectors: grains, metals and energy. Let’s remember that, in these three areas, this Eurasian country is a great world player, even though FIFA has not allowed it to play soccer in Qatar. The great challenge of energy diplomacy is to win the energy war on the battlefield.

*The author is a member of the COMEXI Study and Reflection Unit on the Russia-Ukraine Crisis. She is the coordinator of the Bachelor’s Degree in Global Business at the Universidad Iberoamericana.

Twitter: @AribelContreras