Increased oil and gas revenues and diminished regional geo-politicalrisks have helped underscore Qatar's position as the Middle East's star performer.
But it is the success of Qatar's fast growing gas industry that is propelling the country forward. Today's sealing of an USD8bn liquefied natural gas deal between Exxon Mobil and Qatar Petroleum will be the largest investment into Qatar's energy sector to date.
The joint project aims to produce 15.6 million tonnes a year of LNG. Qatar has invested more than USD12bn in the last 10 years to develop its gas resources and the Gulf state announced plans this week to invest up to a further USD30bn to boost its LNG exports to more than 45 million tonnes per year by 2010.
Qatar has the third largest known gas reserves in the world, after Russia and Iran. We anticipate an annual real GDP growth rate as high as 13% this year, thanks to robust oil and gas prices and the strong investment levels.
This will be double the average annual growth rate of 6.5% over the past five years and will provide yet another boost for per capita income levels, which at close to USD 30,000 are already the highest in the region.
The outlook for 2004 remains positive. Overall real GDP growth is expected to moderate as oil prices trend down but Qatar should still post a very respectable 5.5% growth.
Browse
related articles
Qatar GDP, 13 per cent growth
- Qatar: Thursday, October 16 - 2003 at 11:57
Related content
Qatar's latest LNG deal sets this tiny country on course for even stronger economic growth, says Standard Chartered Bank economist Daniel Hanna.
Article Options
Peter J. CooperThursday, October 16 - 2003 at 11:57 UAE local time (GMT+4)
Replication or redistribution in whole or in part is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AME Info FZ LLC / Emap Limited.
This article was updated on Thu Jun 21 2007.
Disclaimer »
The information comprised in this section is not, nor is it held out to be, a solicitation of any person to take any form of investment decision. The content of the AMEinfo.com Web site does not constitute advice or a recommendation by AME Info FZ LLC / Emap Limited and should not be relied upon in making (or refraining from making) any decision relating to investments or any other matter. You should consult your own independent financial adviser and obtain professional advice before exercising any investment decisions or choices based on information featured in this AMEinfo.com Web site.
AME Info FZ LLC / Emap Limited can not be held liable or responsible in any way for any opinions, suggestions, recommendations or comments made by any of the contributors to the various columns on the AMEinfo.com Web site nor do opinions of contributors necessarily reflect those of AME Info FZ LLC / Emap Limited.
In no event shall AME Info FZ LLC / Emap Limited be liable for any damages whatsoever, including, without limitation, direct, special, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages, or damages for lost profits, loss of revenue, or loss of use, arising out of or related to the AMEinfo.com Web site or the information contained in it, whether such damages arise in contract, negligence, tort, under statute, in equity, at law or otherwise.
