France Secures 2 TWh a Month of Qatari LNG for Winter, With Diesel Led by Saudi Arabia
France has secured the equivalent of 2 terawatt-hours (TWh) a month of liquefied natural gas from Qatar for the winter, President Emmanuel Macron said in Qatar during his Gulf tour. Diesel is the priority, he said. It was secured mainly with Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, and on this trip with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
On our calculation, 2 TWh is 4.7 percent of France’s average monthly gas use last winter, as Eurostat measures it on a gross calorific basis. The presidency did not say which basis its figure uses. Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia together shipped France 5,344 thousand tonnes of gas oil and diesel in 2025, on our sum. That was 33.2 percent of its imports, on our calculation. Saudi Arabia alone sent 4,423 thousand tonnes, on our sum.
What Paris secured on the Gulf tour
The tour ran from 19 to 21 October through Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar, according to the Élysée. Macron said France had obtained guarantees on volumes, helping to avoid shortfalls some operators had expected.
In Doha, the state visit of 20 to 21 October produced a joint statement with His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar. Qatar reaffirmed its role as a reliable partner for global energy security and stable supplies, the statement carried by QNA said. The two countries’ energy security cooperation will focus on industrial cooperation, research and development, diversification of sources and water management, the statement said.
Macron was also in Riyadh on 21 October. His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, received him at Al-Yamamah Palace, with Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz in the meeting, SPA reported.
The cost of transport is the main difficulty now, Macron said. It has risen tenfold. Ships are lacking, he added, because too few are insured. France has proposed a guarantee mechanism to the region’s large funds.
France’s gas consumption last winter against 2 TWh a month
| Month | Consumption, TWh | 2 TWh as share |
|---|---|---|
| November 2025 | 37.14 | 5.38% |
| December 2025 | 46.55 | 4.30% |
| January 2026 | 56.47 | 3.54% |
| February 2026 | 37.54 | 5.33% |
| March 2026 | 34.49 | 5.80% |
| Average | 42.44 | 4.71% |
Inland natural gas consumption from Eurostat, published in terajoules on a gross calorific basis and converted at 3,600 terajoules per TWh; shares are our calculation.
How much 2 TWh a month covers
France used 212.20 TWh of gas from November 2025 to March 2026, on our calculation. That is 10.1 percent less than the 235.97 TWh of the same 5 months a winter earlier, on our calculation. On a smaller winter base, a fixed monthly volume goes further.
The cover changes from month to month. In January 2026, the highest month in the table at 56.47 TWh, 2 TWh would have met 3.5 percent of use on our calculation. In October 2025, at 26.16 TWh, the same volume would have met 7.6 percent, on our calculation.
The latest month in the series is August 2026, at 14.31 TWh. That was 10.4 percent above August 2025, on our calculation. January 2026 use was 3.9 times August’s, on our calculation, so the same 2 TWh covers a far smaller share in midwinter.
Saudi Arabia already France’s main Gulf diesel source
France’s gas oil and diesel imports from the Gulf in 2025
| Supplier | Thousand tonnes | Share of imports |
|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 4,423 | 27.5% |
| Kuwait | 440 | 2.7% |
| UAE | 423 | 2.6% |
| Qatar | 45 | 0.3% |
| Bahrain | 13 | 0.1% |
| Five Gulf states | 5,344 | 33.2% |
| All origins | 16,083 | 100% |
Monthly gas oil and diesel oil imports by origin from the EU statistics office, summed for January to December 2025; totals and shares are our calculation.
Saudi Arabia shipped France 10.1 times as much gas oil and diesel as Kuwait in 2025, on our calculation. Its average was 368.6 thousand tonnes a month on our calculation, and March 2025 was its largest month at 675 thousand tonnes. The kingdom’s 2025 shipments also equal 12.2 percent of the 36,282 thousand tonnes of gas oil and diesel delivered to the French inland market that year, on our calculation.
The UAE’s largest month was November 2025, when its 176 thousand tonnes made up 16.1 percent of France’s gas oil and diesel imports on our calculation. Kuwait supplied France in 6 of the 12 months of 2025, on our count, and shipped 85 thousand tonnes in July 2026.
Imports are large next to French demand. Gross imports of gas oil and diesel were equivalent to 44.3 percent of inland deliveries in 2025, on our calculation. The comparison shows scale, not the imported share of consumption. In January to July 2026, imports were equivalent to 41.1 percent of deliveries, on our calculation. French refineries produced 10,535 thousand tonnes in those 7 months, equal to 54.4 percent of deliveries, on our calculation.
In January 2026, Saudi Arabia supplied 646 thousand tonnes, 40.0 percent of France’s gas oil and diesel imports that month, on our calculation. That was 119.7 percent more than in January 2025, on our calculation. Over January to July 2026, Saudi shipments totalled 1,760 thousand tonnes, 40.3 percent below the same months of 2025 on our calculation, while France’s total gas oil and diesel imports fell 17.3 percent. July is the latest month published, so the series does not yet show the Saudi commitments the Élysée dates to recent weeks.
Macron also spoke about infrastructure. He said Saudi Arabia’s pipeline from the Gulf to the Red Sea at Yanbu is very important, and that France has offered to help restore and secure the site, and that French personnel had been deployed there for 8 days when he spoke.
ADNOC Refining and Technip Energies signed 2 contracts relating to a refining capacity enhancement project and a sustainable aviation fuel project, WAM reported on 20 October. ADNOC Gas and Schneider Electric signed a memorandum to assess advanced technologies and opportunities for operational improvements. In Bahrain, Macron commended the coordination between the two countries and their efforts to strengthen the security and continuity of energy supplies, according to BNA; the nuclear memorandum signed there is covered in our 20 October report, and the Kuwait accords in our 19 October report.
Macron also said electric cars rose from less than 5 percent of French sales in 2017 to more than 40 percent in September.
Why it matters: Imports of gas oil and diesel are large next to French demand, and France’s gas use peaks in midwinter. Macron said the guarantees on volumes help avoid the shortfalls some operators had expected. For Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, the trip confirms them as gas and diesel suppliers to France. Qatar reaffirmed its role as a reliable partner for global energy security, and ADNOC signed refining contracts with Technip Energies on the same trip.
Outlook: The next test is the shipping guarantee mechanism France has proposed to the region’s large funds. The August and September gas oil and diesel data will show whether Saudi, Emirati and Bahraini cargoes are rising on France’s import books. The winter gas months will show how far 2 TWh a month from Qatar goes once demand climbs toward its midwinter peak.
Sources: Élysée, Eurostat, QNA, SPA, WAM, BNA, The Edge.
