Qatar has ruled out using pipelines to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, saying the alternative would require new liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities outside the country which does not make economic sense.
Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs and chief executive of Qatar Energy, said neighbouring countries had offered to let Qatar use an alternative route through their territories.
However, LNG cannot simply be transported through a conventional gas pipeline. Qatar would have to send natural gas through the pipeline and build new facilities at the other end to turn it into LNG.
Al-Kaabi said this would duplicate the large facilities already being built in Qatar as part of the North Field expansion. He said the decision was based on commercial and technical grounds.
He also rejected US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s prediction that the Strait of Hormuz could become “worthless” within two years as Gulf countries develop alternative routes.
Al-Kaabi called the assessment “completely wrong”, saying the strait carried trade in many products, not only oil and gas.
The wider North Field expansion is intended to raise Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77 million tonnes a year to 142 million tonnes by 2030.
The first production unit at the North Field East project is now expected to begin operating in the first half of 2027. It had previously been due to start production in 2026.
Al-Kaabi said later units could also be delayed if the disruption prevented equipment from reaching Qatar. The North Field South project is expected to begin production in 2028.
Qatar is currently exporting only a small volume of LNG through the strait. Al-Kaabi said undamaged units at Ras Laffan could return to normal operations within a few weeks of Hormuz reopening.
Attacks on Ras Laffan in March damaged two LNG production units and reduced Qatar’s export capacity by around 17%. Al-Kaabi said repairs to the two units would take three years.
Repairs to a damaged gas-to-liquids unit are expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2027.
Outside the Gulf, the first production unit at the Golden Pass LNG project in the United States has started shipping cargoes. Al-Kaabi said the second and third units were expected to be fully operational next year.
He also said QatarEnergy expected to become the world’s largest LNG trader “in the very near future”.
The disruption has also hit the wider economy. Qatar’s GDP fell 7% year on year in the first quarter of 2026, official figures showed.
Qatar’s new investment plans
At a special edition of the Qatar Economic Forum in New York, Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani launched a new investment and economic growth management platform called Doha Investment, and announced more than $60bn (around €52bn) in projects and investment opportunities over the next five years.
Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar expected to award approximately $38.5bn (€33.5bn) in new infrastructure projects over the next five years, including public-private partnerships. The first tenders are due to begin immediately.
A separate group of real estate and hospitality projects is expected to attract $22.5bn (€19.6bn) in private investment.
Together, the two programmes represent more than $60bn (€52.25) in projects and investment opportunities.
These plans are separate from Doha Investment, which was established to manage and grow the Qatar Investment Authority’s (QIA) existing domestic portfolio.
The portfolio includes Qatar Airways Group, QNB Group, Ooredoo Group, Qatari Diar, Katara Hospitality and Hassad Food.
Qatar’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Faisal bin Thani Al Thani will serve as Doha Investment’s managing director and vice-chairman.
He said the platform would initially oversee 45 companies representing roughly one-third of QIA’s assets. The companies operate across more than 80 markets, and more than 20 recorded annual revenue exceeding 1bn riyals (€232m) in 2025.
The portfolio covers financial services, transport and logistics, telecommunications, technology, property, hospitality, food and agriculture.
Sheikh Faisal said Doha Investment would work with existing companies and help establish new businesses in areas including advanced technology, manufacturing, supply chains and healthcare.
Officials said the platform would also work with local and international investors and expand private-sector participation in Qatar’s economy.