DOHA: Energy-rich Qatar said Tuesday it plans to increase natural gas production by 30 percent over the next several years, as it faces pressure from its neighbors in a diplomatic crisis.
Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the head of Qatar Petroleum, told a press conference that the emirate intends to raise production to 100 million tons of natural gas a year by 2024.
“This new project will strengthen Qatar’s leading position,” Kaabi told reporters.
“We will remain the leader of LNG for a very long time.”
Qatar is the world’s biggest producer of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
Qatar’s current production is up to 77 million tons per year. The expansion will increase output levels up to the equivalent of six million barrels of oil per day, Kaabi said.
The announcement comes as the Gulf faces its worst diplomatic crisis in years after Saudi Arabia and its allies imposed a sweeping embargo on Qatar last month.
Its timing is likely to be seen as as much political as economic.
On Monday, Qatar gave its response to a 13-point list of demands its neighbors made for lifting their sanctions.
Kaabi said Qatar wanted the production increase to be carried out through a joint venture with international companies.
But he added that the emirate would still go ahead with it even if Saudi Arabia and its allies made good on their threat to sanction any international firm working with Qatar if it failed to meet their demands.
“If there are no companies willing to work with us, we will do the 100 million tons,” he said.
Under-pressure Qatar says to boost gas production 30%
Under-pressure Qatar says to boost gas production 30%
Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 11,183
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index dipped on Monday, losing 44.79 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 11,183.85.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR4.05 billion ($1.08 billion), as 69 of the listed stocks advanced, while 191 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index decreased, down 6.63 points or 0.44 percent, to close at 1,504.73.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu lost 328.20 points, or 1.36 percent, to close at 23,764.92. This comes as 22 of the listed stocks advanced, while 49 retreated.
The best-performing stock was Maharah Human Resources Co., with its share price surging by 7.26 percent to SR6.50.
Other top performers included Arabian Cement Co., which saw its share price rise by 6.27 percent to SR22.71, and Saudi Research and Media Group, which saw a 4.3 percent increase to SR104.30.
On the downside, the worst performer of the day was Arabian Internet and Communications Services Co., whose share price fell by 8.01 percent to SR207.80.
Jahez International Co. for Information System Technology and Al-Rajhi Co. for Cooperative Insurance also saw declines, with their shares dropping by 5.61 percent and 4.46 percent to SR12.79 and SR75, respectively.
On the announcement front, Etihad Etisalat Co. announced its financial results for 2025 with a 7.9 percent year-on-year growth in its revenues, to reach SR19.6 billion.
In a Tadawul statement, Mobily said that this growth is attributed to “the expansion of all revenue streams, with a healthy growth in the overall subscriber base.”
Mobily delivered an 11.6 percent increase in net profit, reaching SR3.4 billion in 2025 compared to SR3.1 billion in 2024.
The company’s share price reached SR67.85, marking a 0.37 percent increase on the main market.
