Crisis-hit Qatar looks to China for fresh natural gas demand and investment
Blockaded by neighbours, the tiny Gulf state is trying to diversify its economy and create trade opportunities, officials say
Qatar is aiming to capitalise on China’s fast growing demand for natural gas as well as its expanding overseas investment and infrastructure pushes as the Gulf state tries to cushion the blows from a blockade by its neighbours.
Qatari Energy and Industry Minister Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada said Qatar was the world’s top supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and would increase production by about 30 per cent by 2024 to meet projected demand, particularly from East Asia.
“We expect China will continue to import more because of its environmentally conscious policies. And we will avail ourselves to the demand,” he said in Doha last month.
China’s imports of LNG grew by about 46 per cent to 38 million tonnes last year, making the country the second-biggest LNG consumer of the fuel after Japan. Qatar accounts for roughly a fifth of those supplies.
China also imported about 30 million tonnes of natural gas via pipelines and is on track to become the world’s biggest consumer of the fuel as it replaces heavily polluting coal as an energy source.
