Doha, September 21 (QNA) - HE Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, Eng. Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi thanked Qatar's neighbors who welcomed the use of their territories for a pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.

HE Minister said, "We are grateful for our neighbors who have welcomed us to use their territories. However, not everything can be transported via pipelines. The problem is that LNG, our main export commodity, cannot be transported by pipelines. We will have to transport it by pipelines as gas and then liquefy it at receiving terminals wherever that may be. This means we are building redundant facilities to the ones we are already building in Qatar as part of the North Field expansion project. This makes no economic sense."

"We have decided not to use pipelines as an alternative based on commercial and technical criteria," Minister Al Kaabi added.

His Excellency made the remarks during a conversation on "The Global Energy Realignment" at the Qatar Economic Forum 2026, which was held, for the first time, in New York city to coincide with the 81st United Nations General Assembly high-level meetings.

On damage to Qatar's gas production facilities and a possible return to production, HE Minister Al Kaabi said the attacks on Ras Laffan have resulted in damage to two LNG trains and a GTL plant. He added, "Repairs on the GTL train will be concluded in the first quarter of 2027. However, it will take three years for repairs on the two LNG trains."

"As for resuming operations," the Minister added, "Qatar is ready to resume normal operations within a few weeks of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz."

On force majeure, Minister Al Kaabi said "Throughout our history, we have been a reliable producer and supplier with zero defaults on any shipment. But this is absolutely beyond our control."

HE rejected the notion that the Strait of Hormuz was obsolete, saying, "It is wrong to call the Strait of Hormuz obsolete as this waterway carries trade in all products, not only oil and gas, to and from all its adjacent countries. Minister Al Kaabi stressed the need for normal movement across the Strait saying: "the countries around the Gulf are neighbors and will remain neighbors for generations to come. Thus, we need to have good relations with our neighbors."

Answering a question on reports that Qatar was buying LNG volumes from the market, His Excellency said: "I have announced in 2024 that we're building one of the largest LNG trading organizations, and I did mention that it is going to be very large. I would like to mention today that, in the very near future, we will be the largest LNG trader in the world by far. And we're building our position to become the largest trader;"

Answering a question of QatarEnergy's projects in the United States, His Excellency the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy said shipments have started from the first train at Golden Pass LNG. "We expect next year to have both the second and third trains in full operation. We are also building the largest ethane cracker in the world at the Golden Triangle Polymers project. The project has started its commissioning process as we speak. It should be starting up in the next few weeks." (QNA)