Qatar quick to reclaim world scepter of liquefied gas after US ‘no’ to new terminals economy

Last year was historic for the U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry: It was the first year it led global exports of this fuel, climbing two places. By that time, Qatar and Australia were the countries competing for leadership in what would reopen in the coming years. ,

Last year was historic for the U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry: It was the first year it led global exports of this fuel, climbing two places. By that time, Qatar and Australia were the countries competing for leadership in what would reopen in the coming years. The Joe Biden administration’s recent decision to cripple all expansion plans for LNG processing and shipping terminals (which ships travel through in the frozen state) has opened up a golden opportunity for two US contenders in that career. And the Emirates are intent on taking advantage of this.

Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi recently unveiled a multimillion-dollar plan to nearly double its export capacity at a rate of 13% annually by 2030. Above all, its exports to Europe and Asia are increasing, the two continents most thirsty for LNG. Increase upon increase, in fact, because – contrary to forecasts from the main international organizations, including the International Energy Agency (IEA), which believe that global gas demand will peak before the end of the decade – the emirate has already announced a Many plans in the same direction.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has completely changed the dynamics of the world gas map. The Old Continent, one of the world’s largest consumers of gas, has embraced LNG as the only possible alternative to Russian locks. A market in which it has to deal with strong competitors on the other side of the world: China, Japan and South Korea, in that order.

The halt to all new terminal projects ordered by the US administration – the country that is covering most of the new European demand – opens a window of opportunity for Qatar. The impact of the decision of the American authorities will not be immediate. In the short term, gas will continue to flow normally and that country’s energy deputy secretary, Mike Considine, has guaranteed supplies to the EU in the coming years: “With the current facilities, we have more than enough capacity,” he said. Said in statements given to this newspaper a few days ago. Its geographical location is also notable, even now with the Red Sea and Suez Canal disabled, shipping options to Europe and Asia are numerous. Having its own fleet of LNG tankers also helps.

In the long term, the move is a golden opportunity for Qatar, which has one of the lowest extraction costs in the world. “Buyers will not go to suppliers where the government can stop the (supply) process. It’s very difficult to make long-term plans when you have something like this,” al-Kaabi said in a statement to Bloomberg on Sunday. “The world needs more gas and more players (suppliers) in the market. “We have consistently said that we need a lot of LNG.”

His words also suggest an opportunity and a necessity: for the emirate, this fuel is vital to both its export balance and the income for its treasury. Also the element that has allowed it to become one of the countries with the highest per capita income on the planet. If the sector’s forecasts are met, Qatar will control almost a quarter of the world LNG market by 2030, consolidating the wealth of its fewer than three million inhabitants and improving its economy despite many allegations of its serious shortcomings in terms of human resources. Will increase regional and global influence. rights.

Since the outbreak of the energy crisis, the state energy company (Qatar Energy) has signed long-term supply agreements with Italian Eni, French TotalEnergies and Anglo-Dutch Shell, as well as Chinese Sinopec. In the latter case, several years in the future: 27. However, to fulfill these contracts and all those already sealed, only a small part of the total is necessary: ​​about half of the planned increase in export capacity is still Waiting for buyers, according to BloombergNEF data.

That metric, that of signing definitive supply agreements, also suggests a turn of events: After two consecutive years of US dominance, the emirate will sign more contracts in the final quarter of 2023 than any other LNG producer. Sealed. With these achievements, it seems only a matter of time before we reclaim the world scepter of esports.

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