Germany to sign LNG contracts in UAE – German economy minister

BERLIN (Reuters) -German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to sign contracts for liquefied natural gas (LNG) during his visit to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, his deputy chancellor said, as Germany looks for new partners to replace Russian energy imports.

“The gas offering is slowly broadening. The government is permanently in talks with many countries,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck said, pointing to his own trip to Qatar and the UAE in March.

In May, sources told Reuters that LNG talks between Germany and Qatar were fraught with differences over key conditions, including the duration of any contract. [nL5N2WW7BO]

German is acquiring LNG terminals as part of its efforts to diversify away from Russian gas.

Habeck was speaking in Lubmin in northern Germany, where the government hopes a state-leased floating storage and regasification unit (FSRUs) can be operational at the end of 2023 at the earliest.

“We must show that in times like these, we can plan, authorise and build faster than is usually the case in Germany,” Habeck said of the construction drive, adding that LNG projects in Wilhelmshaven and Brunsbuettel were examples of this.

“There is a good, realistic chance … that the two FSRU vessels there will be able to feed into the German gas network from the turn of the year,” he said.

(Reporting by Rachel More, Editing by Miranda Murray)