His Excellency Engineer Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Managing Director and CEO of Qatar Energy, expressed his gratitude to the neighbors of the State of Qatar who welcomed the use of their lands to extend a pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.
His Excellency said: “We are grateful to our neighbors who have welcomed our use of their lands. But the reality is that not everything can be transported through pipelines. The problem is that liquefied natural gas, which is our main export commodity, cannot be transported through pipelines in its liquefied state but rather as natural gas, and then liquefied at receiving stations wherever they are. This means that we are building facilities that make the ones we are building in Qatar as part of the North Field expansion project redundant, and this does not make any economic sense.”
His Excellency added: “We have decided not to use pipelines as an alternative, based on commercial and technical criteria.”
His Excellency’s statements came during his participation in a dialogue session on “Reorganizing Energy in the World” at the Qatar Economic Forum 2026, which was held for the first time in New York City to coincide with the high-level meetings of the eighty-first session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Regarding the damage to gas production facilities in the State of Qatar and when production can be resumed, His Excellency Engineer Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi said that the attacks on Ras Laffan led to damage to two liquefied natural gas production lines, and to a production line at a gas-to-liquids facility. His Excellency added: “The repairs to this line will be completed in the first quarter of 2027, but the repair of the two LNG production lines will take three years.”
Regarding the resumption of production operations, His Excellency the Minister said that Qatar is ready to resume production operations normally within a few weeks of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Regarding the declaration of force majeure, His Excellency the Minister said: “Throughout our history, we have been a reliable producer and supplier that has never failed or failed to deliver any shipment. But what is happening now is completely out of our control.”
His Excellency the Minister rejected the idea that the Strait of Hormuz has no value, saying: “It is wrong to describe the Strait of Hormuz as having no value because the waters of the Gulf transport all kinds of goods and products, not just oil and gas, to and from all the countries around it.” His Excellency stressed the need to restore normal movement across the Strait, saying: “The countries surrounding the Gulf are neighbors and will remain neighbors for generations to come. Therefore, we need to have good relations with our neighbors.”
In his response to reports indicating that Qatar is purchasing quantities of liquefied natural gas from the market, His Excellency said: “I had announced in 2024 that we are working to build one of the largest entities for trading in liquefied natural gas, and I mentioned that it would be very large. I would like to mention today that, in the very near future, we will own the largest entity in the world ever for trading liquefied natural gas. We are building this leadership position.”
Regarding Qatar Energy’s projects in the United States, His Excellency the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Managing Director and CEO of Qatar Energy, said that export shipments from the first production line in the Golden Pass LNG project have already begun. He added: “We expect that the second and third lines will be fully operational next year. We are also building the largest ethane cracking unit in the world in the Golden Triangle Polymers Project, which has just begun the process of putting it into service. It is supposed to begin work within the next few weeks.”