OMV CEO Warns EU Risks Losing Qatari Gas over Sustainability Law

The CEO of Austrian energy firm OMV on Tuesday urged the European Union to reconsider its sustainability legislation or risk losing Qatar as a gas supplier which would undermine prosperity in the region.

Qatar's Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi, who is also CEO of QatarEnergy said on Monday that he could halt business with the EU if it does not significantly ease its Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.

Kaabi told Reuters at the ADIPEC energy conference in Abu Dhabi that Qatar has contingency plans in place should it decide to stop shipments to Europe in response to the directive - a threat he has repeatedly said is not a bluff.

"If the tanker from Qatar no longer docks in Europe, we will have a huge problem," OMV CEO Alfred Stern told Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung on Tuesday.

"We must remain pragmatic now, because if we lose access to competitive energy, our prosperity will also decline," Stern said, adding that the EU risks alienating other energy supplying nations if it does not reverse course on sustainability.

The EU sustainability directive requires companies doing business in the bloc to address human rights and environmental risks across their supply chains, and aims to hold companies accountable for harm even in operations outside Europe.

(Reuters - Reporting by Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich, Writing by Ludwig Burger, Editing by Louise Heavens)