DOHA (Reuters) – Qatar said on Monday it was quitting OPEC from January to focus on its gas ambitions, taking a swipe at the group\u2019s de facto leader Saudi Arabia and marring efforts to show unity before this week\u2019s meeting of exporters to tackle an oil price slide.<\/p>\n
Doha, one of OPEC\u2019s smallest oil producers but the world\u2019s biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, is embroiled in a protracted diplomatic row with Saudi Arabia and some other Arab states.<\/p>\n
Qatar said its surprise decision was not driven by politics but in an apparent swipe at Riyadh, Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad al-Kaabi said: \u201cWe are not saying we are going to get out of the oil business but it is controlled by an organisation managed by a country.\u201d He did not name the nation.<\/p>\n
Al-Kaabi told a news conference that Doha\u2019s decision \u201cwas communicated to OPEC\u201d but said Qatar would attend the group\u2019s meeting on Thursday and Friday in Vienna, and would abide by its commitments.<\/p>\n
He said Doha would focus on its gas potential because it was not practical \u201cto put efforts and resources and time in an organisation that we are a very small player in and I don\u2019t have a say in what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Delegates at OPEC, which has 15 members including Qatar, sought to play down the impact. But losing a long-standing member undermines a bid to show a united front before a meeting that is expected to back a supply cut to shore up crude prices that have lost almost 30 percent since an October peak.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are not a big producer, but have played a big part in (OPEC\u2019s) history,\u201d one OPEC source said.<\/p>\n
It highlights the growing dominance over policy making in the oil market of Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United States, the world\u2019s top three oil producers which together account for more than a third of global output.<\/p>\n
Riyadh and Moscow have been increasingly deciding output policies together, under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump on OPEC to bring down prices. Benchmark Brent is trading at around $62 a barrel, down from more than $86 in October.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could signal a historic turning point of the organisation towards Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States,\u201d said Algeria\u2019s former energy minister and OPEC chairman, Chakib Khelil, commenting on Qatar\u2019s move.<\/p>\n
For a graphic on Who produces what within OPEC?, see –\u00a0tmsnrt.rs\/2RxkhwC<\/a><\/p>\n He said Doha\u2019s exit would have a \u201cpsychological impact\u201d because of the row with Riyadh and could prove \u201can example to be followed by other members in the wake of unilateral decisions of Saudi Arabia in the recent past.\u201d<\/p>\n Qatar, which Al-Kaabi said had been a member of OPEC for 57 years, has oil output of just 600,000 barrels per day (bpd), compared with Saudi Arabia\u2019s 11 million bpd.<\/p>\n\u201cUNILATERAL DECISIONS\u201d<\/h3>\n