DOHA (Halbeeg News) – Qatar government has announced that it will pull out of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) next year.
The energy minister of the wealthy Persian Gulf state, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, said the move would allow Qatar to focus on its gas industry.
“The withdrawal decision reflects Qatar’s desire to focus its efforts on plans to develop and increase its natural gas production from 77 million tons per year to 110 million tons in the coming years,” said Al-Kaabi.
The minister said that OPEC had been informed of his country’s decision.
Al-Kaabi dismissed the idea that the withdrawal was connected to politics.
Prices surged Monday after it emerged at the Group of 20 meeting over the weekend that Russia and Saudi Arabia would continue to cooperate on managing the market. The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose above $63 a barrel.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $2.53, or nearly 5%, to $53.46 a barrel, while Brent futures rose $2.73, or 4.6%. to $62.19 a barrel.
In focusing on natural gas, Qatar is betting on the vast resources it controls in the waters that surround it.
Consumption of liquefied natural gas, which is chilled to liquid form and transported on special ships, is growing faster than that of natural gas or oil.
Natural gas does not come under OPEC’s purview and involves different players. Other top exporters of liquefied natural gas include Australia, Russia and, increasingly, the United States.
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