Doha, 1 April 2022 (TDI): EU antitrust regulators have expressed their satisfaction with Qatar Energy and have finished their investigation against Qatar Energy when they found their evidence non-apropos with their concerns.
According to the European Commission; “Today’s closure decision is based on a thorough analysis of all relevant evidence, including information received from Qatar Energy and the European gas importers”.
It has been said that Qatar Petroleum is unlikely to face any EU antitrust action three years after EU regulators started an inquiry into its 20-year gas contracts on the reservations that they may impede the development of a single gas market in the 27-country bloc.
The state-owned corporation, renamed ‘Qatar Energy’, found itself in the clutches of EU’s antitrust in 2018, when the European Commission launched an inquiry into whether its LNG supply deals with European utilities stripped them from averting the shipments within the region.
The decision came after the EU’s competition enforcer concluded a seven-year market abuse investigation against Gazprom, in which the Russian gas giant’s pledge has been validated to change its pricing system and has allowed rivals to be stabled in Eastern Europe.
The Commission is unlikely to take any further action against ‘Qatar Energy’. The EU executive stated that considerable fact-finding has been performed in the matter and that the investigation is still ongoing.
According to the spokesperson; they cannot prejudge its timing or outcome.
The European Union is in dealing with the leading LNG producers i.e. Qatar, the United States, and other suppliers about increasing their gas exports to Europe amid concerns over supply from Russia
Further, it has been said that The EU antitrust case is not related to the ongoing gas issue. The perspective of Qatar is quite different because last month, Qatari authorities have asked for the EU investigation to be stopped so that it could deliver emergency gas.
