Qatar’s economy enjoyed a banner year in 2022, as record LNG exports drove overall export revenues to a nine-year high $132bn. With oil, and especially gas, markets set for another year of volatility, Doha can look forward to another year of bumper revenues in 2023.
The engine of Qatar’s economy is the North Field and its vast reserves of offshore gas which fuel its 77mn t/y LNG industry. Gas markets were already tight going into 2022, setting the scene for strong export gains (MEES, 4 February 2022), but prices went through the roof after Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine pushed Europe into a pivot to LNG. Qatar’s exports of gas and “gaseous hydrocarbons” soared by 63% to a nine year high $86.8bn last year (see chart 1). China alone shelled out $11.52bn on Qatari LNG for 2022 (see p21). (CONTINUED - 621 WORDS)
