His Excellency Mr. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy, has confirmed that Qatar’s LNG expansion projects are progressing as planned. The projects aim to increase production capacity to 142 million tons per annum, with an additional 18 million tons from a project in Texas. This would effectively double Qatar’s LNG production capacity in the coming years.
Al-Kaabi made these remarks during a panel discussion on “The Next Stage of the Global Energy Transition” at the Qatar Economic Forum. The event also featured Mr. Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman & CEO of TotalEnergies, and Mr. Darren Woods, Executive Chair & CEO of ExxonMobil.
Minister Al-Kaabi emphasized that the expansion projects are crucial to meeting the rising demand for cleaner energy, which is driven by economic growth and increasing populations. He stated: “If you look at the expectation of having 1.5 to 2 billion more people in the next 30 years or so, that means we will need more energy, more power, and even more petrochemicals for materials we use every day.”
He also highlighted that LNG will continue to be essential for a long time: “LNG is not going away anytime soon,” citing recent affirmations from the G7 and various countries who have reconsidered their stance on fossil fuels.
Addressing past media skepticism about Qatar’s ambitious plans and potential difficulties in selling its LNG, Al-Kaabi reported securing 25 million tons of long-term LNG sales since last year and anticipates signing more agreements this year.
Regarding energy transition challenges, Minister Al-Kaabi commented on political promises regarding net-zero goals: “Many promises were made by politicians… But now, as reality sets in five or six years later, they say we cannot achieve what we have promised.”
The Qatar Economic Forum serves as a platform for global leaders and thinkers to strategize on future global growth across various themes including sustainable economies and future commerce trends.
