Qatar to withdraw from OPEC and focus on gas exports from January

DOHA — Qatar said on Monday that it was quitting OPEC from January next year, but would attend the oil exporter group’s meeting this week, saying the decision meant Doha could focus on cementing its position as the world’s top liquefied natural gas exporter.

Doha, one of the smallest oil producers in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, 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, which he said been a member of OPEC for 57 years, would still attend the group’s meeting on Thursday and Friday, and would abide by its commitments.

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

One OPEC source said the decision was more symbolic than anything else. “They are not a big producer, but have played a big part in it’s (OPEC) source said.

Qatar has oil output of only 600,000 barrels per day, 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 tons per year.

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 percent since October.

Kaabi 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 tons by 2024.

OPEC members such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and fellow Arab states Bahrain history,” the and Egypt have imposed a political and economic boycott on Qatar since June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Doha denies the charges and says the boycott aims to impinge on its sovereignty.

“A lot of people will politicize it,” 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.”