Qatar to invest $20 billion in US energy sector

Qatar to invest $20 billion in US energy sector
Qatar will make a huge investment into the US energy sector, Doha said on Sunday.
2 min read
16 December, 2018
Kaabi unveiled a huge expansion for Qatar in the US [Getty]

Qatar announced on Sunday plans to invest more than $20 billion in the US energy sector over the next five years.

Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad al-Kaabi told a conference in Doha that Doha is looking to invest in US oil and gas sectors as well as unconventional resources.

"North of $20 billion will be invested over the next five years in the United States in different projects," Kaabi told the Doha Forum.

A prime target of Qatar  was to revive the multi-billion dollar Golden Pass LNG (liquified natural gas) terminal in Texas.

"We are contemplating moving (the project)forward with our partners," said Kaabi, saying a final decision would be made shortly.

Qatar Petroleum owns 70 percent of the project, with ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips splitting the rest.

Qatar's LNG production would rise by 16 million tonnes annually, with an aim of reaching 110 million tonnes a year in five years.

Doha also announced earlier this month that it was withdrawing from the Saudi-dominated OPEC oil cartel, a decision Kaabi said was not "political".

Qatar has been under a year-and-a-half blockade by neighbouring Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE, with Doha seeking to diversify its trade and investments to limit the impact.

Qatar Petroleum on Sunday signed a deal with Italy's Eni to acquire 35 percent in three offshore oil blocks in Mexico in the second major Qatari investment in the North American country this year.

The deal is to develop production at the three fields to around 90,000 barrels per day of oil in 2021.