France is talking to Abu Dhabi about importing fuel and diesel for the coming winter season, TotalEnergies Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanne said.
Pouyanne told the French Senate this was a response to the Russia/Ukraine conflict, which has impacted Russian energy supplies to Europe, according to Reuters.
According to traders, on 25 April, a shipping unit of France’s TotalEnergies provisionally chartered a tanker to load Abu Dhabi crude in early May for Europe, the first such shipment in two years.
The sources further said that the arbitrage window for Middle East crude to head to Europe opened after European buyers shunned Russian oil following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Furthermore, during Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed’s expected visit to Paris next week, the UAE and France are expected to launch a business and investors’ club aimed at revitalizing bilateral economic relations and identifying the most appropriate tools for their markets.
According to Intelligence Online, Pouyanne, and the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, seek to establish a higher French-Emirati economic committee.
The occasion will also see Mubadala, the UAE’s sovereign wealth fund, setting up an office in Paris.
