Despite a major failure in the 364-km Dolphin gas pipeline linking Qatar to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar has not stopped supplies to the UAE and filled the gap by shipping additional liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies.
The pipeline encountered a major failure in Qatar’s territory in mid-April resulting in a shutdown of all its facilities for several days, causing significant curtailment of gas supplies to the UAE.
But sources said that Qatar Petroleum (QP) not only helped Dolphin by shipping repair materials but also backed up gas supplies by shipping LNG to the UAE.
Dolphin supplies 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from Qatar’s giant North Field to customers in the UAE. The project is owned by Dolphin Energy Limited, which in turn is owned by the UAE’s Mubadala with 51%, with Total (24.5%) and Occidental (24.5%).
Last year, Qatar Petroleum Chief Executive, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, had told reporters that the state-owned QP intended to continue supplying the UAE with natural gas through Dolphin despite the land, air and sea blockade imposed on Doha by the UAE and other Gulf states.
The contract to provide the UAE with Qatari gas extends to 2032. Qatar has boosted LNG production in the last two years.
Even in June, 2017, Al-Kaabi had said Qatar would not cut gas supplies to the UAE despite the dispute between the two nations.
Al-Kaabi, who is now Qatar’s energy minister, had said that the contract allowed Qatar not to fulfil the agreement in compelling circumstances but would not stop supplies to its “brothers”.
“The siege we have today is a force majeure and we could close the gas pipeline to the UAE,” he had said in an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic.
“But if we cut the gas, it does great harm to the UAE and the people of the UAE, who are considered like brothers … we decided not to cut the gas now,” Al-Kaabi added.
Qatar has been under a political boycott and economic blockade by its neighbours, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and even Egypt who have accused Doha of supporting terrorism but Qatar has repeatedly denied this claim.