For the second time this year, Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) heads a government delegation in Abu Dhabi to negotiate gas supplies to Austria. But this time it shouldn’t just be declarations of intent: Nehammer and Co. expect the negotiations to finally come to a successful conclusion – also because Abu Dhabi has approached Austria, the “Krone” learned on the spot.
When Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler boards a charter plane for the second time, it has to be done right this time. Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) is also part of the party. The two unanimously stress that Austria needs to diversify when it comes to gas supplies – that is, it should take a multi-track approach. Nehammer told journalists on the spot on Thursday: The aim is in any case “to return home with liquefied gas”.
“The goal will be for us to actually have an agreement,” Nehammer said — and the agreement is believed to be “even better” than the one signed in September when German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the United Arab Emirates. At the time, the German energy company RWE reached an agreement on an initial supply of 137,000 cubic meters of LNG (Liquid Natural Gas, note) to Germany.
In March, a few days after the attack on Ukraine, Gewessler and Nehammer made their first visit to the United Arab Emirates. Even then, Nehammer was optimistic that he would put Austria on their client list. Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed al-Nahyan indicated that liquefied natural gas would be supplied to Austria. Now a promise has to get serious. These deliveries would be especially important for the 2023/24 winter season.
The partially state-owned company OMV, in which the Austrian state holding company ÖBAG has a 31.5 percent interest and the state fund Mubadala of Abu Dhabi a 24.9 percent interest, would conclude a specific supply contract.
Natural gas storage ‘already more than 100 percent full’
For the time being, the details are kept very quiet and figures and facts are only presented in the afternoon. OMV boss Stern made everyone sit up when he said OMV’s natural gas storage facilities were already “more than 100 percent full.” “It works because there are cavities in the ground. And if you push gas in there, it is possible that you get a little more gas there than the nominal capacity is.”
According to Stern, OMV accounts for about 25 percent of Austria’s gas storage capacity, “and Austria has a total storage capacity that will last about a year”. OMV is already able to fully meet its customer obligations with non-Russian gas.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
