Doha: HE Minister of State for Energy Affairs, President and CEO of QatarEnergy Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi, underscored the State of Qatar's enduring commitment to backing all countries in meeting their needs from Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Speaking at a panel discussion within the Doha Forum 2025, which kicked off Saturday, President Al Kaabi emphasized that this has been the commitment since 2017, when Qatar declared its intention to move ahead with expanding its production behemoth of LNG, which is poised to elevate production from 77 million tonnes to 142 million tonnes annually at home.
According to Qatar News Agency, an additional 18 million tonnes will come from the Golden Pass LNG terminal project in the United States, asserting that Qatar is ready to support all nations in meeting their needs from LNG if that is commercially profitable for both parties. Minister Al Kaabi gave a clear outline of the anticipated production timeline, noting that the first LNG train in Qatar is poised to come online by the third quarter of 2026. In the United States, he highlighted, initial operations have already commenced on the first train of the Golden Pass LNG project, with output expected to begin by the end of the first quarter of 2026, followed sequentially by the remaining two US trains in an orchestrated expansion phase.
Al Kaabi added that current global LNG output stands at roughly 400 million metric tons, while demand trajectories indicate a required elevation to between 600 and 700 million metric tons by 2035. This increase (200 to 300 million tons) is propelled chiefly by accelerating consumption patterns across Asia, alongside steady demand growth in other regions. Additional variables were not embedded in forecasting models in 2017, nor even in more recent recalibrations, the Minister elucidated.
He noted the emergent and intensifying role of artificial intelligence in reshaping energy architectures, computational load assumptions, and resource-allocation frameworks. Speaking on the relationship between Artificial Intelligence and energy, Al Kaabi outlined that the energy needs of AI differ entirely from ordinary household requirements, affirming that it is like a factory requiring power around the clock, demanding energy loads comparable to those of an entire country. This, he said, represents continuous growth 24/7, unlike households whose consumption patterns fluctuate between day and night.
In response to a question on oil prices, Al Kaabi elaborated that the world needs prices high enough to generate revenues supporting future investment efforts, yet low enough to remain within consumer reach, adding that he believes the range between USD 70 and USD 80 per barrel could represent a fair price to secure both objectives. His Excellency asserted that he is grateful to the European Parliament for its decision to repeal Article 22 of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which had threatened stringent sanctions of up to 5 percent of companies' global turnover.
In essence, Qatar looks forward to the tripartite dialogue between the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and the European Parliament to resolve these issues, which raise profound concerns not only for oil and gas enterprises but for all companies, he noted. Elaborating on ambitions to achieve net-zero emissions, Al Kaabi described this goal as unattainable, emphasizing that Qatar has not altered its position. Nevertheless, it is taking decisive measures to confront this challenge. The State of Qatar operates the largest Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) facility in the MENA region, with a current capacity of 2.5 million tonnes per year, which it plans to scale up to 11 million tonnes by 2030 and approximately 13 million tonnes by 2035, the Minister pointed out. He further shed light on key LNG expansion projects, as well as petrochemicals, fertilizers, polymers, urea, and solar energy.