The UAE and Bahrain deals increase French commitments to 295,000 tonnes a month, just over 10 percent of consumption.
French President Emmanuel Macron has secured commitments for an extra 200,000 tonnes of diesel a month from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, according to the French presidency.
The Elysee Palace announced the deals on Tuesday, before the president landed in Qatar.
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His three-day Gulf tour, which also stops in Kuwait, follows a weekend of violent protests in France over the soaring cost of living, as the US-Iran war keeps energy prices high.
The presidency said the UAE had committed to about 100,000 tonnes a month, while a further 100,000 tonnes monthly would be secured during Macron’s visit to Bahrain.
Together with deliveries from Saudi Arabia, France now has commitments for 295,000 tonnes a month, just over 10 percent of its consumption, it said.
Kuwait has also given “very clear commitments” to deliver diesel and kerosene to the French overseas territories of Mayotte and Reunion in the Indian Ocean, the presidency said. The shipments will go via Oman to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
Patrick Pouyanne, the head of French oil giant TotalEnergies, who is travelling with Macron, said the deals would “reassure the French”.
“We are not going to run out of diesel in February,” he said, according to the AFP news agency.
Prices and supply
Andreas Krieg, a professor at the School of Security Studies at King’s College London, told Al Jazeera that France’s energy deals fit a wider pattern.
He noted that Gulf states have sent delegations to London, Paris, Berlin and Rome in recent months, seeking access to military complexes and possible stakes in European defence companies.
“They see a growing entanglement between their interests and European interests,” he said. “Not just in the energy field,” but also supply chains, he added.
Both sides feel pressure from a United States that is increasingly sidelining them, creating an opening to minimise dependence on Washington, Krieg said.
Macron’s agenda in Qatar includes discussions about security, defence, securing energy commitments to France, and advancing the frontiers in artificial intelligence, according to Sheikha Alanoud Hamad Saud Al Thani, a political analyst and fellow at the Middle East Council for Global Affairs.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, she said Qatar “really valued” its ties with France, which is one of the Gulf state’s oldest defence relationships.
“It comes as no surprise that the French are one of Qatar’s most important friends in Europe,” she said, describing Macron’s visit as “extremely consequential”.
“[Qatar is] leveraging existing relationships to adapt to this new kind of asymmetrical warfare, and we’re looking to see advancements in anti-drone and defence capabilities,” she said.
Impact of US-Israel war on Iran
Iran has blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, the main exit route for the Gulf’s energy exports, sending crude prices soaring during the eight-month conflict. Diesel has been among the hardest hit.
The G7, chaired this year by France, agreed earlier in October to draw up to 100 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves.
France has also released 10 million barrels of diesel from its own reserves, aiming to cut prices by 12 to 18 cents a litre, or about 5 to 8 percent, from next month, the French presidency said.