Qatar expects all Gulf energy producers to shut down exports within weeks if the Iran conflict continues and drives oil to $150 a barrel, the country’s Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times in an interview.
The Qatari Energy Minister forecast that crude prices could hit $150 a barrel in two to three weeks if ships and tankers were unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which is the world’s most vital oil export route, connecting the biggest Gulf oil producers with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
In India, crude oil prices have reached a three-year high already. On MCX, crude oil gained 8.3 per cent as Iran attacked a US-owned oil tanker near Kuwait.
Qatar halts LNG production as US-Iran conflict escalates
Qatar halted its production of liquefied natural gas on Monday, as Iran continued to strike Gulf countries in retaliation for Israeli and US attacks.
Qatar’s LNG production is equivalent to about 20 per cent of global supply and plays a major role in balancing demand for the fuel in both Asian and European markets.
Possibility of force majeure by Gulf states
“Everybody that has not called for force majeure we expect will do so in the next few days that this continues. All exporters in the Gulf region will have to call force majeure,” Kaabi told the FT.
“If this war continues for a few weeks, GDP growth around the world will be impacted,” he said.
“Everybody’s energy price is going to go higher. There will be shortages of some products and there will be a chain reaction of factories that cannot supply,” Kaabi said.
Analysts and economists have highlighted the potential impact of the war on economies globally.
Conflict causing delay in new projects
Kaabi said even if the war ended immediately, it would take Qatar “weeks to months” to return to a normal cycle of deliveries.
Kaabi, who is also the CEO of QatarEnergy, one of the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas producers, told FT that the company’s North Field expansion project would delay first production.
“It will delay all our expansion plans for sure,” Kaabi said. “If we come back in a week, perhaps the effect is minimal, if it’s a month or two, it is different.” The project was scheduled to begin production in mid-2026.