Qatar to merge LNG producers Qatargas and Ras Gas

Qatar will merge state-owned liquefied natural gas producers Qatargas and RASGAS Co Ltd, the chief executive of Qatar Petroleum (QP) said on Sunday, in the Gulf state’s latest reaction to lower energy prices. The more-than-two-year slump in oil prices has forced Gulf countries to reduce state spending and consider consolidations as a way to cut costs: among the biggest being Abu Dhabi’s merging of Mubadala and International Petroleum Development Co.