Qatar threatens to cut off LNG supplies to Europe unless the EU doesn’t ease or repeal new laws on institutional sustainability
Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad bin Sherida al Kaabi warned on Monday that Qatar could cut off liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to the European continent if the European Union doesn’t ease or repeal new laws on institutional sustainability.
Speaking at a ministerial session at the Abu Dhabi Petroleum Exhibition (ADIPEC 2025), Kaabi said: “Europe needs to revise its due diligence directive on corporate sustainability, as the continued imposition of a 5% fine on the total revenues of international companies will make it impossible to supply gas to Europe”.
“As we have already made clear, we cannot achieve carbon neutrality under these stringent conditions… Europe must realize that it needs gas from Qatar, from the United States, and from other sources around the world”.
From his part, ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods expressed concern that business in Europe would continue if the European Commission didn’t make substantial amendments to the law itself, noting that current rules could lead to fines of up to 5% of global revenues, which is impractical for large companies.
Woods said there are signs that some European lawmakers are beginning to listen to growing objections to the law, but he has yet to see any concrete steps to change it.
In an open letter published last month, Qatar and the United States which together provide about 40 percent of the world’s LNG supply called on the European Union to reconsider the new directive or scrap it altogether.
The EU is increasingly relying on LNG imports to cover its energy needs, especially after the decline in gas supplies through pipelines as a result of the conflict in Ukraine.
The controversial European legislation, known as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), imposes strict environmental and social obligations on companies operating within Europe.
In April, the Council of the European Union decided to postpone the first phase of the directive for a year, mainly to include large companies.
Last May, French President Emmanuel Macron called for the directive to be scrapped entirely, backed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, stressing that the EU needed to accelerate and simplify its regulatory procedures, but Macron’s proposal didn’t receive widespread support, even among his political allies.
