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A10 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 4 december 2018

Qatar to pull out of Saudi-dominated OPEC amid Doha boycott

By JON GAMBRELL the United Arab Emirates
Associated Press cut ties to Qatar in a politi-
DUBAI, United Arab Emir- cal dispute that is still going
ates (AP) — The tiny, ener- on. They also launched an
gy-rich Arab nation of Qa- economic boycott, stop-
tar announced Monday it ping Qatar Airways flights
will withdraw from OPEC in from using their airspace,
January, a rebuke of the closing the country's sole
Saudi-dominated cartel as land border with Saudi Ara-
the kingdom's boycott of bia and blocking its ships
Doha continues unabated from using their ports.
and a crucial meeting of They say the crisis stems
the group looms this week. from Qatar's support for ex-
The surprise declaration tremist groups in the region,
could make Qatar the first charges denied by Doha.
Middle East nation to leave The four nations also have
the cartel since its found- pointed to Qatar's close re-
ing in 1960. It again injects lationship with Iran. Qatar
politics into an organization restored full diplomatic ties
that long has insisted it is to Iran amid the dispute.
nonpartisan, stealing head- In this May 5, 2018, file photo, a giant image of the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al OPEC, or the Organization
Thani, adorns a tower in Doha, Qatar.
lines just as the cartel delib- Associated Press of the Petroleum Exporting
erates production cuts to Countries, was formed in
halt a slide in global crude are not consulted, at the discuss possible produc- minister who remains a 1960 as a reaction to West-
oil prices. very least not sufficiently, tion cuts. In November, al- powerful figure in the coun- ern domination of the oil
Although contributing only and its leaders are no lon- Falih said OPEC and allied try, called the withdrawal industry.
a fraction of OPEC's overall ger an active part of the oil-producing countries from OPEC a "wise deci- Qatar was the first na-
production, Qatar's deci- organization's machine." will probably need to cut sion." tion outside of its founding
sion also throws into ques- The decision was an- crude supplies, perhaps by "This organization has be- members to join the cartel,
tion the viability of the car- nounced by Saad Sherida as much as 1 million barrels come useless and adds entering its ranks in 1961.
tel. Once muscular enough al-Kaabi, Qatar's minister of oil a day, to rebalance nothing to us," Sheikh Ha- Counting Qatar, OPEC has
to grind America to a halt of state for energy affairs. the market. mad wrote on Twitter. "They 15 members, including Al-
with its 1970s oil embargo, He said Qatar, the world's Qatar produces only about are used only for purposes geria, Angola, Congo, Ec-
OPEC needed non-mem- largest exporter of liquefied 600,000 barrels of crude oil that are detrimental to our uador, Equatorial Guinea,
bers like Russia to push natural gas, planned to in- a day, making it OPEC's national interest." Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait,
through a production cut crease its exports from 77 11th biggest producer. The Qatar, a country of 2.6 mil- Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Ara-
in 2016 after prices crashed million tons of gas per year loss of production, under lion people where citizens bia, the United Arab Emir-
below $30 a barrel. That's to 110 million tons. He also 2 percent of overall OPEC make up over 10 percent ates and Venezuela. OPEC
unlikely to change, espe- said Qatar wants to raise its supply a day, won't greatly of the population, discov- nations like Ecuador, Ga-
cially as the United States oil production. affect the cartel's position ered its offshore North Field bon and Indonesia have ei-
regained the throne of the "In light of such efforts and in the market. gas deposit in 1971, the ther withdrawn or suspend-
world's top oil producer. plans, and in our pursuit to Anas Alhajji, an oil analyst, same year it became inde- ed their membership in the
"The Qatari leadership is no strengthen Qatar's position said Qatar's decision "has pendent. past, only later to rejoin.
longer interested in remain- as a reliable and trustwor- no impact on the market It took years for engineers Qatar could potentially do
ing an active part of an thy energy supplier across either way whether they're to discover the field's vast the same.
organization that largely the globe, we had to take in or they're out." reserves, which shot Qa- OPEC sets production tar-
shuns it," the Eurasia Group steps to review Qatar's role "The cost for them is higher tar to No. 3 in world rank- gets for its members in an
said in an analysis. "The two and contributions on the in- than the benefit" of re- ings, behind Russia and effort to control the price of
individuals that markets fo- ternational energy scene," maining in OPEC, Alhajji Iran, with which it shares oil available on the global
cus on are Saudi Arabia's al-Kaabi said. said. "This is just like shutting the North Field. It also has market.
energy tsar Khalid al-Falih There was no comment down a losing business." made the country fantas- President Donald Trump
and Russia's Alexander No- from Vienna-based OPEC, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al tically wealthy, sparking its repeatedly has criticized
vak. Qatari energy officials which meets Thursday to Thani, Qatar's former prime successful bid for the 2022 both OPEC and U.S. ally
WHO: US experts not needed to fight FIFA World Cup. Saudi Arabia over rising oil
prices in recent weeks, de-
Qatar also hosts the al-Ude-
Ebola outbreak in Congo id Air Base, the home of manding a production in-
the forward headquarters crease to drive down U.S.
of the U.S. military's Cen- gasoline prices. That rising
tral Command and about supply, coupled with the
Associated Press breyesus says the U.N. Congo. Rebel groups there 10,000 U.S. troops. Trump administration al-
GENEVA (AP) — The head health agency mostly have complicated efforts Qatar's wealth has seen lowing many countries to
of the World Health Organi- needs the United States to to battle what is now the it take on a larger impor- continue to import Iranian
zation says it doesn't need continue the financial and world's second-deadliest tance in international af- oil despite his targeting of
experts from the Centers other support it has provid- Ebola outbreak. fairs. Its political stances, Tehran with sanctions, has
for Disease Control and ed. Tedros told reporters Mon- often supporting Islamists, seen global prices drop.
Prevention or any other He noted the U.S. and day in Geneva: "We can have drawn the ire of its Benchmark Brent crude,
U.S. government agency to many other developed mobilize from other parts, neighbors, particularly Sau- for instance, reached over
fight the deadly Ebola out- countries have security from those institutions who di Arabia, OPEC's largest $85 a barrel in early Octo-
break in Congo, insisting: guidelines that prevent don't have very strict secu- exporter. ber, only to drop sharply
"We can cover it." deployments of experts rity provisions like that. We In June 2017, Bahrain, in the time since. It traded
WHO Director-General in conflict zones like the can cover it."q Egypt, Saudi Arabia and at just over $61 a barrel
Tedros Adhanom Ghe- Ebola-hit area of eastern Monday.q