Germany's RWE and UAE's ADNOC Ink LNG Deal

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the signing of the agreement. (WAM)
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the signing of the agreement. (WAM)
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Germany's RWE and UAE's ADNOC Ink LNG Deal

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the signing of the agreement. (WAM)
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the signing of the agreement. (WAM)

United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz witnessed on Sunday the signing of a new Energy Security and Industry Accelerator (ESIA) Agreement that will accelerate projects of joint interest between the UAE and Germany in energy security, decarbonization and climate action.

The agreement was signed by Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, UAE Climate Special Envoy, and Managing Director and Group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), and Dr. Franziska Brantner, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, reported the UAE state news agency (WAM).

As part of the agreement, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has entered into an LNG supply agreement with RWE AG (RWE), with ADNOC providing an LNG cargo for delivery in late 2022, to be used in the commissioning of Germany’s floating LNG import terminal at Brunsbüttel.

In addition, ADNOC has reserved a number of further LNG cargos exclusively for German customers in 2023.

ADNOC has also entered into a number of agreements with German customers, including Steag GmbH (Steag) and Aurubis AG (Aurubis) for demonstration cargos of low-carbon ammonia, a carrier fuel for hydrogen that can play a critical role in decarbonizing hard-to-abate industry sectors.

The first of these cargoes arrived in Hamburg earlier this month.

Under the proposed ESIA, both countries anticipate to explore further opportunities to accelerate growth and collaboration across the hydrogen value chain.

Furthermore, Masdar, the UAE’s renewable energy champion, will be actively exploring opportunities in the offshore wind markets in the North Sea and Baltic Sea in Germany that could generate up to 10GW of renewable energy production capacity by 2030 subject to the necessary German policy and regulatory requirements being met between the two nations.

Finally, it was announced that ADNOC had completed the UAE’s first ever direct diesel delivery to Germany in September 2022, and has agreed the terms with Wilhelm Hoyer GmbH & Co. KG (Hoyer) to supply up to 250,000 tons of diesel per month in 2023.

Scholz said: "Through ESIA, we enable the swift implementation of strategic lighthouse projects on the focus areas of renewable energies, hydrogen, LNG and climate action."

Dr. Al Jaber said: "This landmark new agreement reinforces the rapidly growing energy partnership between the UAE and Germany. As we embrace the energy transition, ADNOC is fully committed to accelerate and invest in projects of energy security, decarbonization and climate action as we continue to be a responsible and reliable provider and trusted exporter of low-carbon energy."

Robert Habeck, Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, said: "We highly welcome the acceleration of joint lighthouse projects in the field of climate action, decarbonization and energy security. We look forward to closely collaborate on offshore wind, other renewables and hydrogen in the UAE and in Germany."



French Finance Minister Says Budget Can Still Be Improved

 French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Antoine Armand arrives for a dinner in honor of the President of Nigeria, at the Elysee palace in Paris, on November 28, 2024. (AFP)
French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Antoine Armand arrives for a dinner in honor of the President of Nigeria, at the Elysee palace in Paris, on November 28, 2024. (AFP)
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French Finance Minister Says Budget Can Still Be Improved

 French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Antoine Armand arrives for a dinner in honor of the President of Nigeria, at the Elysee palace in Paris, on November 28, 2024. (AFP)
French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Antoine Armand arrives for a dinner in honor of the President of Nigeria, at the Elysee palace in Paris, on November 28, 2024. (AFP)

French Finance Minister Antoine Armand said on Saturday that the 2025 budget could still be improved, but stopped short of giving ground in a standoff with the far right over new concessions.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's gave Prime Minister Michel Barnier's fragile minority government a rare reprieve late on Friday leaving its rating steady although France's budget deficit has spiraled out of control this year.

Any relief is likely to prove short-lived with both the left and far right threatening to bring Barnier's government down over the budget, which seeks to squeeze 60 billion euros ($64 billion) in savings through tax hikes and spending cuts.

Marine Le Pen's far right National Rally (RN), whose tacit support Barnier needs to survive a likely no confidence motion, has given him until Monday to accede to her demands to make further changes to the budget.

"This government, under his authority, is willing to listen, to have a dialog, to be respectful, to improve this budget," Armand told journalists.

Asked about the showdown with Le Pen, he said: "The only ultimatum really facing the French is that our country gets a budget."

On Thursday, Barnier already dropped plans to raise electricity taxes in the budget as the RN had demanded, but it is keeping pressure on the government to scrap plans to postpone an increase in some pensions to save money.

RN lawmaker Jean-Philippe Tanguy told Les Echos newspaper on Saturday if the bill is not modified the party would back a no-confidence motion.

The test could come as soon as Monday if his government has to use an aggressive constitutional measure to ram the social security financing legislation through parliament, which will trigger a no-confidence motion.