Qatar is firm in its plans to expand its liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry to global markets, according to HE the Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad bin Sherida al-Kaabi.

“Natural gas remains the cleanest and most environmentally friendly fossil fuel and it will dominate the future of energy,” said al-Kaabi, who addressed faculty, staff, and students of Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) during a recent forum.

Al-Kaabi, who is also president and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, visited GU-Q to discuss future of Qatar’s energy sector, including the decision to withdraw from Opec, and plans to increase annual capacity, explore untapped markets, and acquire new gas fields.

“We are blessed to have a lot of gas and we are looking at worldwide growth and economic gains through increased capacity and a larger market share. We are in the right business,” al-Kaabi pointed out.

The minister also engaged with the audience during a question and answer session on the future of renewables and the role of universities in providing critical skill sets for the labour market.

“I make it a priority to speak to students and faculty, because these are the people who are important for our future,” al-Kaabi said, adding that His Highness the Deputy Amir, Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani, who is also QP chairman, is also a graduate of GU-Q.

Al-Kaabi also reviewed his efforts to guide QP and its subsidiaries to market leadership as the largest exporter of LNG, as well as an increasingly powerful tool of economic diplomacy.

On QP’s significant restructuring, al-Kaabi said: “Safety, reliability, and environmental compliance are the top things we measured, then efficiency. We were able to reduce annual operational costs of the entire industry by QR4bn annually.”

In his opening remarks where he attributed the transformative changes happening in Qatar’s energy sector to the minister’s strategy and vision, GU-Q dean Dr Ahmad Dallal said: “This event is a wonderful opportunity for our community to engage in meaningful conversation with a key leader of one of the world’s most powerful economies.”