Qatar announced it was leaving OPEC in January of 2019. The official reason for leaving the pact was to focus their efforts on natural gas production.
Qatar is the leading country for liquefied natural gas exports, responsible for 30 percent of global trade in 2016. Australia is the second biggest liquefied natural gas exporter, with about half the global trade that Qatar controls. Qatar had the third biggest natural gas reserve in the world, housing 24.9 trillion cubic meters. While Russia and Iran top Qatar’s natural gas reserves, neither of the two countries leads in global liquefied natural gas exports.
Qatar Is a Major Natural Gas Player
OPEC
