BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 23. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy, underlined the continued importance of natural gas in the global energy mix during a leadership dialogue at the World Gas Conference (WGC) in Beijing, Trend reports.
Speaking at the event, Minister Al-Kaabi said that economic growth around the world cannot take place without fuel, emphasizing that natural gas remains the most reliable, affordable, and widely available source of energy. “Gas will be the backbone of growth in all economies, and it is here to stay for the next century,” he noted.
While acknowledging the need for a diverse energy mix, Minister Al-Kaabi said the composition would vary across countries due to different levels of renewable resource availability. “Each country will have a different mix depending on when the sun shines, the wind blows, or the rain falls,” he explained. He added that Qatar currently meets 15% of its electricity demand from solar power and aims to double this to 30%.
Addressing questions on climate goals, Minister Al-Kaabi pointed out the challenges many countries face in meeting net-zero targets by 2050. “Many are backtracking as they realize that achieving net-zero without a realistic plan and consideration of economic needs is very difficult,” he said. He reiterated that Qatar and QatarEnergy were among the few to clearly state they could not meet the 2050 net-zero timeline under current conditions.
On Qatar’s LNG development, the Minister provided an update on the North Field expansion. The first LNG train from the North Field East project, with a capacity of 32 million tons per annum (MTPA), is expected to start operations by mid-2026. Additional trains will follow, and the North Field West project will enter the construction phase around 2027. Qatar’s total LNG production, including output from the Golden Pass project in the United States, will increase from 77 MTPA to 160 MTPA.
“QatarEnergy will be the largest single LNG exporter as a company,” said Al-Kaabi. “As a country, Qatar will remain the second largest LNG exporter globally, after the United States, for the foreseeable future.”
Minister Al-Kaabi also outlined developments in QatarEnergy’s petrochemical investments, including two major ethane cracker projects—one in the United States and one in Qatar. Both are scheduled to begin operations in early 2027 and are being developed in partnership with CPChem.
Commenting on Qatar’s energy ties with China, Minister Al-Kaabi said China remains the company’s largest LNG buyer and a strategic partner in the North Field East and South projects. He also highlighted cooperation in QatarEnergy’s LNG shipbuilding program, which includes extensive ship construction in Chinese shipyards.
The World Gas Conference 2025, held for the first time in China, brings together industry leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders from over 70 countries. The five-day event is expected to attract over 30,000 participants and features 300 exhibitors, underscoring its global significance in the gas and energy sector.