Qatar plans to boost gas production to 100 mn tonnes a year by 2024

Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the head of Qatar Petroleum, told a press conference that the emirate intends to raise production to 100 million tonnes of natural gas a year by 2024. “This new project will strengthen Qatar’s leading position,” Kaabi told reporters. “We will remain the leader of LNG for a very long time.” 

Qatar is the world’s biggest producer of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Qatar’s current production is up to 77 million tonnes per year. The expansion will increase output levels up to the equivalent of six million barrels of oil per day, Kaabi said.

The announcement comes as the Gulf faces its worst diplomatic crisis in years after Saudi Arabia and its allies imposed a sweeping embargo on Qatar last month. Its timing is likely to be seen as as much political as economic. 

On Monday, Qatar gave its response to a 13-point list of demands its neighbours made for lifting their sanctions. 

Kaabi said Qatar wanted the production increase to be carried out through a joint venture with international companies. But he added that the emirate would still go ahead with it even if Saudi Arabia and its allies implement their threat to sanction any international firm working with Qatar if it failed to meet their demands. “If there are no companies willing to work with us, we will do the 100 million tonnes,” he said.

The UN Security Council has told Qatar to sort out its differences with its Gulf neighbors, China’s ambassador said on Tuesday, indicating the top UN body would not get involved in the dispute. Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani met with Security Council members on Friday to discuss the rupture in ties with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt. 

Chinese Ambassador Liu Jieyi, who holds the council presidency this month, said “the best way would be that the countries concerned work out a solution through dialogue and through consultations among themselves, because we don’t see any other alternative to that.” Al-Jazeera reported that the foreign minister had asked Security Council members to urge Saudi-led nations to lift restrictions on the use of airspace and other transportation links with Qatar.