Brussels, 12/03/2009 (Agence Europe) - On 11 March in Doha, where he was taking part in the 7th international conference on natural gas, before he met Abdulla Bin Hamad Al Attiya, the Qatar energy, Andris Piebalgs made an appeal for energy connections between the EU and Qatar to be enhanced. Qatar is the EU's fourth largest energy provider after Russia, Algeria and Norway. The Commissioner for energy explained that Qatar has the third largest gas reserves after Russia and Iran and said that he hoped it would become the biggest exporter and be able to increase its deliveries to the EU by way of methane transporters of NGL and the gas pipe line linking the emirate to the Community market. Piebalgs insisted that, “The geographic proximity of Qatar and the EU make gas trade beneficial for both sides. Today, the only option is LNG, but we should not rule out the possibility of a later pipeline link”. On the basis of existing contracts, Qatari gas supplies to the EU quadrupled last year from 7.5 billion cubic metres to 30 billion. “Qatar can be an important player in European energy security and find a reliable partner in the EU, the world's largest open gas market. And Europe can be an important partner for Qatar in developing sustainable markets for its gas”, added the Commissioner before adding, “am also aware of your plans to create a regional gas pipeline network in the region. This is something which interests us very much and which could be the base for future cooperation EU's policy to move to a low-carbon future is “by no means anti-fossil fuel”. He concluded that, “We cannot do without fossil fuels, and every realistic scenario confirms that even in a low-carbon future, there is a significant role for fossil fuels. It is a process of redefinition, not a process of rejection”. E.H./trans/rh