Key Takeaways
- • Qatar has ruled out a pipeline bypass of the Strait of Hormuz, with Energy Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi calling an alternative route commercially and technically unviable because it would require duplicating LNG facilities outside the country.
- • Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani launched the Doha Investment platform at the Qatar Economic Forum in New York and announced more than $60bn in projects and investment opportunities over five years.
- • The platform will oversee 45 companies representing roughly one-third of Qatar Investment Authority assets, operating in more than 80 markets, with Sheikh Faisal bin Thani Al Thani as managing director and vice-chairman.
- • North Field expansion timelines have slipped: the North Field East first unit is now expected in the first half of 2027, versus the previous 2026 target, after March attacks on Ras Laffan cut export capacity by around 17%.
- • Qatar's GDP fell 7% year on year in the first quarter of 2026, according to official figures.
Summary
Qatar has ruled out using pipelines to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, according to Energy Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, who is also chief executive of QatarEnergy. Neighbouring countries had offered to let Qatar use alternative routes through their territories, but Al-Kaabi said LNG cannot simply travel through a conventional gas pipeline. Qatar would need to pipe natural gas out and build new liquefaction facilities at the far end, duplicating the large facilities already under construction as part of the North Field expansion. He described the decision as based on commercial and technical grounds.
Al-Kaabi also rejected US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's prediction that the Strait of Hormuz could become "worthless" within two years as Gulf countries develop alternative routes, calling the assessment "completely wrong" and noting the strait carries trade in many products beyond oil and gas. Qatar is currently exporting only a small volume of LNG through the strait. Al-Kaabi said undamaged units at Ras Laffan could return to normal operations within a few weeks of the strait reopening.
The North Field expansion is intended to raise Qatar's LNG production capacity from 77 million tonnes a year to 142 million tonnes by 2030. The first production unit at North Field East is now expected to start in the first half of 2027, previously targeted for 2026, and later units could be delayed if disruption prevents equipment from reaching Qatar. North Field South is expected to begin production in 2028. Attacks on Ras Laffan in March damaged two LNG production units and reduced export capacity by around 17%; Al-Kaabi said repairs would take three years, while a damaged gas-to-liquids unit is expected to be repaired in the first quarter of 2027. Al-Kaabi also said QatarEnergy expects to become the world's largest LNG trader "in the very near future," and that the first production unit at Golden Pass LNG in the United States has begun shipping cargoes.
At a special edition of the Qatar Economic Forum in New York, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani launched Doha Investment, a platform to manage and grow the Qatar Investment Authority's existing domestic portfolio, which includes Qatar Airways Group, QNB Group, Ooredoo Group, Qatari Diar, Katara Hospitality and Hassad Food. The platform will initially oversee 45 companies across financial services, transport and logistics, telecommunications, technology, property, hospitality, food and agriculture, with more than 20 recording annual revenue above 1bn riyals (about \u20ac232m) in 2025. Minister of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Faisal bin Thani Al Thani will serve as managing director and vice-chairman, and the platform will seek to work with local and international investors and expand private-sector participation.
Sheikh Mohammed announced more than $60bn (around \u20ac52bn) in projects and investment opportunities over the next five years. This includes approximately $38.5bn in new infrastructure projects, including public-private partnerships, with first tenders due to begin immediately, and $22.5bn in private investment expected in real estate and hospitality projects. These programmes are separate from Doha Investment itself. Qatar's GDP fell 7% year on year in the first quarter of 2026, official figures showed, reflecting the disruption's economic impact.
Al-Kaabi also rejected US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's prediction that the Strait of Hormuz could become "worthless" within two years as Gulf countries develop alternative routes, calling the assessment "completely wrong" and noting the strait carries trade in many products beyond oil and gas. Qatar is currently exporting only a small volume of LNG through the strait. Al-Kaabi said undamaged units at Ras Laffan could return to normal operations within a few weeks of the strait reopening.
The North Field expansion is intended to raise Qatar's LNG production capacity from 77 million tonnes a year to 142 million tonnes by 2030. The first production unit at North Field East is now expected to start in the first half of 2027, previously targeted for 2026, and later units could be delayed if disruption prevents equipment from reaching Qatar. North Field South is expected to begin production in 2028. Attacks on Ras Laffan in March damaged two LNG production units and reduced export capacity by around 17%; Al-Kaabi said repairs would take three years, while a damaged gas-to-liquids unit is expected to be repaired in the first quarter of 2027. Al-Kaabi also said QatarEnergy expects to become the world's largest LNG trader "in the very near future," and that the first production unit at Golden Pass LNG in the United States has begun shipping cargoes.
At a special edition of the Qatar Economic Forum in New York, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani launched Doha Investment, a platform to manage and grow the Qatar Investment Authority's existing domestic portfolio, which includes Qatar Airways Group, QNB Group, Ooredoo Group, Qatari Diar, Katara Hospitality and Hassad Food. The platform will initially oversee 45 companies across financial services, transport and logistics, telecommunications, technology, property, hospitality, food and agriculture, with more than 20 recording annual revenue above 1bn riyals (about \u20ac232m) in 2025. Minister of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Faisal bin Thani Al Thani will serve as managing director and vice-chairman, and the platform will seek to work with local and international investors and expand private-sector participation.
Sheikh Mohammed announced more than $60bn (around \u20ac52bn) in projects and investment opportunities over the next five years. This includes approximately $38.5bn in new infrastructure projects, including public-private partnerships, with first tenders due to begin immediately, and $22.5bn in private investment expected in real estate and hospitality projects. These programmes are separate from Doha Investment itself. Qatar's GDP fell 7% year on year in the first quarter of 2026, official figures showed, reflecting the disruption's economic impact.
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