Middle East / Africa
Country profile: Qatar
| Location: | Middle East, peninsula bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia |
| Climate: | arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers |
| Terrain: | mostly flat and barren desert covered with loose sand and gravel |
| Size: | 11437 sq. km total (Land area: 11437 sq. km ) |
| Population: | 928,635 (July 2008 est.) |
| Languages: | Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language |
| Government: | emirate |
| Capital city: | Doha |
| Legal system: | based on Islamic and civil law codes; discretionary system of law controlled by the Amir, although civil codes are being implemented; Islamic law dominates family and personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Currency: | Qatari rial (QAR) |
| Licensing: |
Country profile
While Qatar is a member of the Organization of the Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) and is a significant oil producer, the government has devoted more resources to the development of natural gas in recent years, particularly for export as liquefied natural gas (LNG). In 2006, Qatar reportedly surpassed Indonesia to become the largest exporter of LNG in the world.
Together, revenues from the oil and natural gas sectors amount to 60 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Domestically, the vast majority of Qatar’s total energy consumption comes from natural gas (79 percent), while the balance is supplied by oil.
Energy production and consumption
| Oil | Gas | |
| Production: | 1 million bbl/day (2005 est.) | 43 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Consumption: | 95,000 bbl/day (2004) | 17 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Exports: | 960,600 bbl/day (2004) | 25 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Imports: | ||
| Reserves: | 15 billion bbl (2007 est.) | 25 trillion cu m (1 January 2007 est.) |
| Major fields: |
Qatar - recent news
| 22 Mar 26 |
H.E. Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi: The missile attacks reduced Qatar’s LNG export capacity by 17% and caused an estimated loss of $20 billion QatarEnergy annouced March 19 that it expects the damage to its Ras Laffan Industrial City caused by missile strikes, which occurred on 18 March 2026, and in the early hours of 19 March 2026, to cost about $20 billion a year in lost revenue and to take up to five years to repair, impacting supply to markets in Europe and Asia. |
| 19 Mar 26 |
QatarEnergy statement on missile attacks on its LNG facilities In addition to the previous attack on Ras Laffan Industrial City on Wednesday 18 March 2026 that resulted in extensive damage to the Pearl GTL (Gas-to-Liquids) facility, QatarEnergy confirms that in the early hours of Thursday 19 March 2026, several of its Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities were the subject of missile attacks, causing sizeable fires and extensive further damage. |
| 03 Mar 26 |
QatarEnergy to stop production of LNG Due to military attacks on QatarEnergy’s operating facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City and Mesaieed Industrial City in the State of Qatar, QatarEnergy has ceased production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and associated products. |
| 25 Feb 26 |
Qatar: Technip Energies awarded a major LNG contract for the North Field West project by QatarEnergy Technip Energies, as leader of a joint venture with Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) and Gulf Asia Contracting (GAC), has been awarded a major Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning (EPCC) contract by QatarEnergy for the onshore LNG facilities of the North Field West (NFW) project. |
| 11 Feb 26 |
Qatar: Worley selected by Samsung C&T for CO2 sequestration project in Qatar Worley has been awarded a contract by Samsung C&T Corporation to deliver detailed engineering services for the QatarEnergy LNG Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Project, a carbon dioxide (CO2) LNG sequestration project in Qatar. |
Qatar - more news
Other countries in this region
- Algeria,
- Angola,
- Bahrain,
- Benin,
- Botswana,
- Burundi,
- Cameroon,
- Central Africa Republic,
- Chad,
- Comoros,
- Congo (Brazzaville),
- Congo (Democratic Rep.),
- Cote d'Ivoire,
- Djibouti,
- Egypt,
- Equatorial Guinea,
- Eritrea,
- Ethiopia,
- Gabon,
- Gambia,
- Ghana,
- Guinea (Republic),
- Guinea Bissau,
- Iran,
- Iraq,
- Israel,
- Jordan,
- Kenya,
- Kuwait,
- Lebanon,
- Liberia,
- Libya,
- Madagascar,
- Malawi,
- Mali,
- Mauritania,
- Mauritius,
- Morocco,
- Mozambique,
- Namibia,
- Niger,
- Nigeria,
- Oman,
- Palestine,
- Rwanda,
- Sao Tome,
- Saudi Arabia,
- Senegal,
- Seychelles,
- Sierra Leone,
- Somalia,
- Somaliland,
- South Africa,
- South Sudan,
- Sudan,
- Syria,
- Tanzania,
- Togo,
- Tunisia,
- Uganda,
- United Arab Emirates,
- Western Sahara,
- Yemen,
- Zambia,
- Zanzibar,
- Zimbabwe
