Beijing, May 21 (QNA) - HE Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi, said that economic growth anywhere in the world cannot happen without fuel, adding that "gas is the best source for fuel - that is reliable, affordable, and available to most countries.

Speaking at a leadership dialogue held during the World Gas Conference (WGC) in Beijing, HE Minister Al Kaabi reaffirmed that while we need all kinds of fuels and a wide energy mix, gas will be the backbone of growth in all economies, and it is here to stay for the next century.

Minister Al Kaabi said each country will have a different energy mix than the other, depending on intermittency variables such as when the sun does not shine, or when the wind does not blow, or when the rain does not fall.

"For us in Qatar," His Excellency added, "we have plenty of sunshine and today we are meeting 15 percent of our electricity demand from solar power, and we are working to double that to 30 percent."

Answering a question on the net-zero as an environmental target, HE Minister Al Kaabi stated that while many countries and companies announced commitment to net-zero, it is clear now that many are backtracking as people realize it is very difficult to achieve net-zero by 2050 without a real plan and without consideration to their needs for energy and for economic growth. His Excellency said: "The State of Qatar and QatarEnergy were amongst the very few countries and companies who said they would not be able to meet net zero."

Speaking on the progress of Qatar's North Field expansion, His Excellency the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, said: "We will be starting the first LNG train from the North Field East development which has a 32 million ton per annum LNG production capacity by mid next year. Subsequently, other trains will come online after that.

As for North Field West, it is in the engineering phase and will be going into the construction phase somewhere in 2027. We will more than double of LNG production from the current 77 million tons to 160 million including production from our Golden Pass project in Texas, which will come online later this year."

"QatarEnergy will be the largest single LNG exporter as a company. While Qatar, as a country, will be the second largest exporter of LNG after the United States for a very long time," Minister Al Kaabi said. "We will play a very big role in helping economies around the world to flourish and to grow, with the cleanest fossil fuel available."

HE Minister Al Kaabi said QatarEnergy was doubling its production capacity in many parts of the petrochemical industry and is building the world's largest ethane cracker in the United States, which is expected to start production in the first quarter of 2027; and the largest ethane cracker in the MENA region that is being built in Ras Laffan and is also expected to begin production in early 2027.

"So, between these two projects, this is the largest single investment by one company with CPChem, our good partners in both projects," the Minister added.

On relations with China and the role it plays in the energy industry, His Excellency said: "China's growth is tremendous. They are creating a good energy mix and their ambition for renewables has far surpassed their plans.

They are adding gas to their growth requirements. China is our biggest buyer of LNG and a partner in our NFE and NFS expansion. We are also building a large number of ships in China as part of our historic LNG shipbuilding program."

The World Gas Conference is the premier gathering of the global gas and energy industry. Themed "Energizing a Sustainable Future", WGC2025 marks the first time it is held in China.

Taking place in Beijing from 19 to 23 May, the Conference is expected to attract unprecedented participation, with over 30,000 attendees from 70 countries and 300 exhibitors, domestic and international, making the Conference a unique opportunity to engage with emerging and established markets globally. (QNA)