Qatar to focus on natural gas output

The Gulf nation, the world’s leading LNG producer, said it will withdraw from OPEC in January 2019.

Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi announced on Monday the Gulf nation will withdraw from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Speaking at a news conference in Doha, al-Kaabi said the country wants to focus more on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) production, the country’s main export product.

The country owns the majority of the North Field gas field, which it shares with Iran. The North Field, which is almost as big as Qatar itself, is the world’s largest natural gas field.

Qatar joined OPEC in 1961 and it is the first Gulf country to leave the bloc of oil-producing countries.