Qatar to leave OPEC in 2019, energy minister says

Qatar is to leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) next month, the Gulf emirate’s new Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi announced on Monday.

“Qatar has decided to withdraw its membership from OPEC effective January 2019,” Kaabi said at a press conference in Doha.

According to the minister, the emirate will no longer remain committed to OPEC agreements.

“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,” Kaabi said.

“Qatar is proud in its international standing at the forefront of natural gas producers, and as the biggest exporter of [the liquid natural gas] LNG — the cleanest fossil fuel, which has given Qatar a strong and resilient economy.”

He added that OPEC was told of the decision on Monday ahead of the announcement.

Qatar, a country of 2.6 million people, discovered the offshore North Field in 1971, the same year it became independent.

It took years for engineers to discover the gas field’s vast reserves, which shot Qatar to No. 3 in world rankings, behind Russia and Iran, with which it shares the North Field.