NOTEBOOK: OPEC – Qatar
Qatar announced this week that it will be leaving OPEC at the year end.
This will reduce the number of OPEC members to 14. Qatar is not a major oil producer or exporter and is currently OPEC’s 11th largest producer.
However, Qatar is a world leader in liquefied natural gas (LNG), and its given reason for leaving OPEC is to concentrate its attention on the growing global LNG market. Qatar’s massive gas field off its northeast coast is considered to be the world’s largest non-associated gas field (i.e. with no oil) and holds about 10% of the world’s known gas reserves. Overall, Qatar is the third-largest holder of natural gas resources behind Russia and Iran.
All oil and gas activities in Qatar, including exploration, production, refining, transport, and storage, are controlled by the state owned petroleum company Qatar Petroleum (QP).
Qatar has a population of around 2.6 million, most of whom are expatriates. Thanks to its oil and natural gas reserves, Qatar has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world.
Qatar declared independence from Britain on September 3, 1971. Its national flag is the only national flag having a width more than twice its height. The nine serrated edges separate the colored and white portions. They signify Qatar’s inclusion as the 9th member of the ‘reconciled Emirates’ of the Persian Gulf at the conclusion of the Qatari-British treaty in 1916.
Since June 2017, Qatar has been under a diplomatic and economic embargo by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt. The main reasons for the embargo include alleged support for terrorism and Qatar’s relations with Iran.
Geographically, Qatar is small and looks remarkably like an insignificant appendix growth on the side of the huge Saudi Arabia. But its size is totally disproportionate to its wealth and power – as visibly represented by its skyline……………