REPORT. To bypass the blocked Strait of Hormuz due to the war in the Middle East, Qatar wants to create new

Qatar accounts for 20% of the world’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. However, for nearly a month, it has halted its facilities due to the inability to deliver due to the Middle East conflict. To overcome this deadlock, the government is now considering reducing its logistical dependency on the Strait of Hormuz.

Ras Laffan is a steel monster in the Qatari desert. As a natural gas production site, its torches spew flames that can be seen from afar as it is impossible to approach. Heavily guarded fortress, police prohibit access. The world’s largest LNG export complex, it has been shut down for nearly a month. Part of its facilities were destroyed by Iran. Most importantly, production has been halted as the tankers can no longer pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Ras Laffan is also the world’s leading LNG export port, and almost all the gas produced transited through this passage before the war.

To reduce this logistical dependency, Doha is calling on Rashid Al Mohanadi, vice president of a think tank and a key energy advisor to the Qatari government. “Even in case of a ceasefire, the Iranian threat is far from disappearing”, that’s why Qatar must now find solutions to export its natural gas without passing through the Strait of Hormuz, he explains. According to him, there are several options.

“The first would be to send gas through pipelines to ports outside the Arabian Peninsula. And in these ports, build infrastructure to liquefy the gas for transport by ship.”

Rashid Al Mohanadi, energy advisor to the Qatari government

via franceinfo

Another example cited by Rashid Al Mohanadi, “to send the gas to Saudi Arabia which could then liquefy it for export. There are several models. We already have a pipeline connecting us to the United Arab Emirates. And I think we can further develop all of this”.

Building such infrastructures, which will pass through several countries, will require a lot of money, but here, “the money is available,” dismisses Rashid Al Mohanadi. The challenge is to politically align with its neighbors, which has not always been the case. “Political will must be present. And I think that after this war, the Gulf countries are likely to pursue these projects to completion,” says the Qatari. However, these projects will still take months, if not years, to materialize.