Germany and the United Arab Emirates on Friday deepened their energy ties with a number of agreements covering renewables and natural gas, part of a broader €40 billion ($46.4 billion) investment push to support industry in Europe's top economy.
With a trade relationship worth around $15.5 billion a year, Germany and the UAE have been seeking closer relations amid growing political uncertainty, including the war in Iran, with energy playing a major role.
RWE, Germany's largest power producer, on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding with UAE state-backed renewable energy firm Masdar over a possible joint participation in German offshore wind auctions in 2027 covering potential investment of more than €3 billion.
RWE also signed a letter of intent with ADNOC on future supplies of liquefied natural gas, building on an initial framework agreement between the two parties in February.
"The UAE and Germany are building on decades of trusted partnership to advance economic growth and shared prosperity for the long-term," Sultan al-Jaber, ADNOC Group CEO and the UAE's Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said.
Both parties plan to agree terms for up to two LNG offtake agreements to supply German as well as other European and Asian markets from the early 2030s. Any LNG volumes are to come from ADNOC Gas and ADNOC's international arm XRG.
XRG, ADNOC, and German state-owned energy firm SEFE also signed an MOU to explore deeper cooperation in the fields of natural gas and LNG.
Masdar and German energy infrastructure investment firm Luxcara also agreed to explore joint energy storage and offshore wind investments in Germany and other markets worth more than €5 billion.
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Miranda Murray and Louise Heavens)