Qatar: Focus on Gas Production Qatar to Pull Out of Opec

Just before his participation in the ministerial conference of Opec, Oatar's Minister of State for Energy Affairs Al-Kaabi announced that his country would withdraw from the organization as of January 2019. He said that Qatar would focus its energy policy on gas production.

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Vienna/Austria — Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi led Qatar’s last delegation to the meetings of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Opec, in the aftermath of the State of Qatar’s announcement on withdrawing its membership in the organization.

The Minister held a series of talks with Opec oil ministers on the sidelines of the organization’s meetings in Vienna. The meetings included talks with the oil ministers of Kuwait, Oman, Iraq and Iran as well as Malaysia’s economy minister. Discussions during the meetings covered bilateral ties and cooperation in the field of energy, as well as the challenges facing the oil industry in general and Opec in particular, reports Qatar Petroleum. Qatar is the world's biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The Arab country has been boycotted by some Arab neighbours over allegations that it funds terrorism. However, al-Kaabi stated that the decision to leave Opec was not linked to the boycott.

Qatar is the smallest Opec member in terms of both area and population. Apart from petroleum, Qatar’s other natural resources include natural gas and foodstuffs. Oil and natural gas account for a substantial share of the country’s gross domestic product. Petroleum has made Qatar one of the world’s fastest-growing and highest per-capita income countries. The country’s oil exploration began in 1935 at the Dukhan field. Commercial exportation from the field started between 1939 and 1940.

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