Qatar may invest more in UK electricity

Over five years ago, Qatar imposed a moratorium on its prized North Field in the Persian Gulf, which supplies its giant processing plants with enough energy to produce 77m tons a year of LNG.

The opening of the Barzan gas project this year will allow the country to meet growing domestic demand for gas in the Gulf for the next 20 years.

Despite the pause on major expansion schemes, Qatar plans to invest $3bn (£1.8bn) over the next five years on capital expenditure alone. “We hope that British companies will want to compete for the contracts to deliver these projects,” al Sada said.

Despite the vast wealth that LNG exports have created in Qatar, the country’s status as the world’s leader in terms of gas supply has been challenged recently. Major changes in the industry in the US through fracking, which is soon to get under way on a larger scale in the UK, have challenged Qatar’s dominance of the gas supply market.

Despite the impact the new technology is having on international energy markets, al Sada dismisses any concerns about Qatar’s long-term status.

“We do not consider the US shale gas revolution to be a game changer but rather a validation of Qatar’s strategy,” he said.

“Global gas demand has been growing consistently and we have had the flexibility to re-plan our LNG marketing to meet growing demand in Asia and elsewhere. On the long term, our strategy remains essentially unchanged, thanks to our flexibility and our ability to respond to changes in the global gas market.”

Some producers such as Russia have advocated the creation of a gas version of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which controls 30pc of world oil, to help manage prices.

Al Sada dismisses the idea. “A gas version of Opec would not work,” he said. “This is because the industry structures for gas markets and oil markets are very different in terms of supply commitment, costs, liquidity and competing fuels.”

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