• Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • About us
  • Contact Us
  • Staff Email
Thursday, June 19, 2025
  • Login
TheMattersPress
  • Home
  • News
  • Features
  • Thematterspress
  • Multimedia
    • Audio
    • Photo
    • Video
  • About us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Features
  • Thematterspress
  • Multimedia
    • Audio
    • Photo
    • Video
  • About us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
TheMattersPress
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Qatar quits OPEC

The Matters Press by The Matters Press
December 3, 2018
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Qatar quits OPEC

Saad al-Kaabi, chief executive of Qatar Petroleum.

Saad al-Kaabi, chief executive of Qatar Petroleum.

Qatar has resolved to quit OPEC from January 2019 but would attend the oil exporter group’s meeting this week.

RELATED POSTS

Fubara shames antagonists of emergency rule, vindicates Tinubu – TDF

Nigeria’s talent export initistive a game changer

Baba-Ahmed’s Assessment of Tinubu’s Performance lacks depth and reflects personal frustration – TDF

The decision meant Doha could focus on cementing its position as the world’s top liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter.

Doha is one of the smallest oil producers in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

It is locked in a diplomatic dispute with the group’s de facto leader Saudi Arabia but said the move to leave OPEC was not driven by politics.

Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Saad al-Kaabi, told a news conference that Qatar would still attend the group’s meeting on Thursday and Friday this week.

Qatar, who has been a member of OPEC for 57 years, said that it would still abide by its commitments to the group.

“Qatar has decided to withdraw its membership from OPEC effective January 2019 and this decision was communicated to OPEC this morning,” the minister said.

“For me to put efforts and resources and time in an organization that we are a very small player in and I don’t have a say in what happens …

”Practically it does not work, so for us it’s better to focus on our big growth potential,” he said.

One OPEC source told Reuters the decision was more symbolic than anything else.

“They are not a big producer, but have played a big part in it’s (OPEC) history,” the source said.

Qatar has oil output of only 600,000 barrels per day (bpd), compared with the 11 million bpd produced by Saudi Arabia, the group’s biggest oil producer and world’s biggest exporter.

But Doha is an influential player in the global LNG market with annual production of 77 million tonnes per year, based on its huge reserves of the fuel in the Gulf.

Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at consultancy Energy Aspects, said Qatar’s withdrawal “doesn’t affect OPEC’s ability to influence as Qatar was a very small player.”

OPEC and its allies, including Russia, are expected to agree on a supply cut at this week’s meeting in a bid to support crude prices that have slid almost 30 per cent since October.

Oil prices surged about 5 per cent on Monday after the United States and China agreed to a 90-day truce in their trade war, but Brent crude is still trading at around $62 a barrel, well below October’s peak of more than $86.

Al-Kaabi, who is heading Qatar’s OPEC delegation, said the decision was not political but related to the country’s long-term strategy and plans to develop its gas industry and increase LNG output to 110 million tonnes by 2024.

OPEC members, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and fellow Arab states Bahrain and Egypt, have imposed a political and economic boycott on Qatar since June 2017.

They are accusing Qatar of supporting terrorism. Doha denies the charges and says the boycott aims to impinge on its sovereignty.

“A lot of people will politicize it,” Al-Kaabi said.

“I assure you this purely was a decision on what’s right for Qatar long term. It’s a strategy decision.”

“We will make a big splash in the oil and gas business soon,” he said.

He said Qatar Petroleum planned to raise its production capability from 4.8 million barrels oil equivalent per day to 6.5 million barrels in the next decade.

Doha also plans to build the largest ethane cracker in the Middle East.

Tags: OPECQatar
ShareTweetPin
The Matters Press

The Matters Press

Related Posts

Fubara shames antagonists of emergency rule, vindicates Tinubu – TDF
Energy

Fubara shames antagonists of emergency rule, vindicates Tinubu – TDF

June 16, 2025
Commission plans to liberate 38% illiterate Nigerians
Economy/Technology

Nigeria’s talent export initistive a game changer

June 15, 2025
Baba-Ahmed’s Assessment of Tinubu’s Performance lacks depth and reflects personal frustration – TDF
Economy/Technology

Baba-Ahmed’s Assessment of Tinubu’s Performance lacks depth and reflects personal frustration – TDF

June 15, 2025
Economic implications of Niger coup to Nigeria, ECOWAS
Energy

Military deploys 6,195 soldiers to combat terrorism, insurgency in Nigeria

June 15, 2025
Buhari underscores the opportunities in a single African air transport
Economy/Technology

Maiden flight to Ebonyi

June 14, 2025
Reasons not to attack nuclear facilities – UN
Energy

Reasons not to attack nuclear facilities – UN

June 14, 2025
Next Post
U.S, China truce spurs global market

U.S, China truce spurs global market

Trans-boundary investment in Africa tops ECA’s call

Trans-boundary investment in Africa tops ECA's call

Recommended Stories

Economists Challenge IMF on call for further VAT increase in Nigeria

IMF reports global economic growth at 2.8% in 2023

April 12, 2023
We have nothing to hide – NNPC

NNPC, CBN review banking services, strengthen relationship

February 9, 2024
New Year: Buhari to re-organise military, police to tackle crimes, insurgency

New Year: Buhari to re-organise military, police to tackle crimes, insurgency

January 1, 2021

Popular Stories

  • Rising prices of goods cause protests in Morocco

    Rising prices of goods cause protests in Morocco

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • NLNG not responsible for gas supply shortfall, price hike

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • NCC sets fresh operational fees, spectrum prices for telecom operators

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Hoarding causes hike in prices of grains

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Prices of Petrol, diesel increase in November

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
TheMattersPress

We bring you the best news update in Nigeria

LEARN MORE »

Recent Posts

  • Fubara shames antagonists of emergency rule, vindicates Tinubu – TDF
  • Nigeria’s talent export initistive a game changer
  • Baba-Ahmed’s Assessment of Tinubu’s Performance lacks depth and reflects personal frustration – TDF

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Economy/Technology
  • Energy
  • Entertainment/sports
  • Features
  • Foreign
  • Multimedia
  • Natural Resources
  • News
  • Oil and Gas
  • Photo
  • Politics
  • Security
  • Thematterspress
  • Uncategorized
  • Video

© 2025 Domo Tech World - Powered by Thematterspress.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Features
  • Thematterspress
  • Multimedia
    • Audio
    • Photo
    • Video
  • About us
  • Contact Us

© 2025 Domo Tech World - Powered by Thematterspress.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Call Us