CNBC’s full interview with Qatar’s Energy Minister

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: A really important time for the region. President Trump is on the ground. How significant is this for Qatar and for Qatar energy? [00:00:08] Speaker 2: It's very significant for the country, obviously, the first sitting president to visit Qatar. You know, the relationship between Qatar and the U.S. is a great relationship in multi-fronts. So we're extremely excited about having him here this afternoon. [00:00:26] Speaker 1: You'll be meeting the president today. What is your focus of conversation with him? [00:00:30] Speaker 2: Yes, we will be meeting with His Highness President Trump. Of course, from my side, I'll be talking about the energy cooperation between the two countries, which is a very big cooperation and has been for 70 years. I mean, we have 70 years of relationship with energy companies working in Qatar. [00:00:52] Speaker 1: Walk me through Qatar Energy's role and positioning in the United States right now, because I also understand there's a number of quite high-profile investments and deals currently in progress. [00:01:04] Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, we've been investing in the U.S. for quite some time. We've invested over $30 billion in different projects. The main project that we've invested in is Golden Pass LNG, which is 80 million tons of LNG export from the U.S. That's the single largest LNG export facility built in one time. We own 70% of that, and ExxonMobil, our very good partner in the U.S., is 30%. So, I mean, that will make us, as Qatar Energy, the third largest buyer of LNG from the U.S. So, that project is extremely important, I think, for the LNG and, you know, President Trump's ambitions of exporting more LNG from the U.S. to Europe and other places. So, we would help in that, of course, and that was our strategy. And we actually took fine investment decision on that project in the presence of the previous Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry, in the U.S. during President Trump's time. But these projects take, you know, time to actually deliver. And we expect first LNG to come by the end of this year and hopefully to inaugurate officially the project in the first quarter of 26. [00:02:37] Speaker 1: President Trump is a dealmaker. Can we expect any deals in the energy space between the U.S. and Qatar while he's on the ground? [00:02:44] Speaker 2: I think, you know, the way I look at it is, you know, I talked about Golden Pass. Golden Triangle is the other project that we have, which is the largest ethylene cracker in the world. 2.1 million tons per annum with our partners Chevron and Philips 66 through Chevron Philips. That partnership will put forward, you know, the largest ethylene cracker that basically produces products that you need for kayaks, coolers, very important products that can be used also for manufacturing in the U.S. So it's a very important project that will also come online by the first quarter of 2027. So we have a project that will be inaugurated in 26 and another one that will be inaugurated in 27. So these are the investments that we made in, you know, President, actually for the Golden Triangle project. I signed a deal with CP Kim in the presence of President Trump and His Highness in the White House in his previous term. So now we're delivering on things that we have invested in together. Of course, when you look at our investments with the U.S. companies in Qatar, we have 77 million tons that have 14 LNG trains. Twelve of those have American partnership. And in all our expansion projects, whether it's Northfield East, Northfield South, we have also the presence of American companies, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips. And in Qatar, we have, you know, the largest MENA region, ethylene cracker being built. We expect that also to come online in 27, early 27. It's also with CP Kim, Chevron Phillips. And that's another around $7 billion investment here in the petrochemicals. So our investments together is very, very wide range, whether it's chemicals or upstream. Of course, worldwide, we have a lot of exploration together with many oil and gas companies from the U.S. [00:05:01] Speaker 1: The President's visit to Riyadh has really shown that he has somewhat of a transactional approach to foreign policy. So what do you make of this new era of economic cooperation between the United States and the Gulf? And how can leaders here, like yourself, ensure that these transactions don't just benefit America first, they also benefit Qatar and the region? [00:05:25] Speaker 2: No, I think the majority of the deals that will be announced in the – or all the deals that will be announced, actually, in the trip, you know, today when he comes are all announcements of things that we would like to either invest in as investments in our sovereign fund or things that we need to purchase, whether it's military, whether it's Qatar Airways or in the energy sector. So these are things that we would, you know, these are things that we would, you know, invest in or buy. And I think in any business relationship, it has to be a win-win long term. It has to survive, you know, administrations, presidents, and so on for both, I think, sides to be happy in the long term. If you have a deal that's skewed to one side, ultimately, you know, somebody gets upset about that deal. But I think what we have always had with the U.S. is a win-win relationship. And, you know, I mean, the example of the petrochemical project that we are building in the U.S., we agreed to build with CP Chem, the largest ethylene cracker in the U.S. And at the same time, we agreed to build one here in Qatar. So, I mean, it's a benefit that's on both sides. Both of them are very commercial. Both of them serve that market that we want to enter in the plastics. [00:06:48] Speaker 1: And just on this topic, is Qatar prepared to say no to Washington if any of these deals don't serve your strategic interests? [00:06:55] Speaker 2: Yeah, I think the relationship with the U.S. and the U.S. administration is very cordial. We have a very good understanding. You know, President Trump is a businessman. He also does not accept a deal that does not make sense. So he understands, or he would understand. Nobody would ask us to do a deal that doesn't make sense commercially. Whether we're investing as QIA, we make our own judgments about projects that make sense for us. When we buy airplanes as Qatar Airways, we do our own economics and we do our commercial assessments versus other airline carriers that would be bidding. In the military, they do similar. And in the oil and gas, obviously, we have competition. Like even the companies that want to get into the North, East and South, it was a competitive process. And, you know, we have some European companies that want some projects and American that want the other. And that's the nature of the business. [00:07:57] Speaker 1: I also wanted to ask you about the state of the market as well. Oil prices have come down significantly. We have seen some pressure from the Trump administration on OPEC Plus to add more barrels to what is a pretty well-supplied market already. That, of course, impacts the price of LNG because we see long-term contracts being linked to the price of oil. What's your own outlook for the LNG market over the next 12 to 18 months, given this macroeconomic backdrop? [00:08:23] Speaker 2: Yeah, I think, first of all, if you talk about the prices in general, I think the prices being too low are not good for the oil and gas sector because, you know, President Trump wants, you know, a drill baby drill. And he wants more oil on the market. And for oil and gas companies to actually invest, they need to have a reasonable price where their revenues are reasonable. I don't think we need $100 and also if we go below $70, it's damaging to most companies to actually invest. So you need, I think, in my view, a window between $70 and $85 is a window that's reasonable where you can get enough, you know, revenue to sustain your own, you know, fields and development. Because it's not only about additional reserves, you need to maintain the reserves that exist and it becomes more expensive with time. So you need enough revenue for oil and gas companies and petrochemicals in general, whether it's in the Middle East or anywhere, I think, to be sustainable. And then if it goes too high, also it's detrimental to demand and it will be, I think, damaging to the industry. So I think a good window of $75 to $85 or some kind of a range there is healthy for the long term because I don't like very high prices and I don't like very low prices. Regarding the outlook of LNG, I think when you look at a lot of the analysts and people that talk about LNG, if you see what was projected regarding the long-term LNG pricing, when we took the decision to proceed with the Northfield expansion in 2016-17, everybody was saying we were crazy to do all these expansions. And if you read about that, everybody thought that the green push, if you will, and the terms of energy will be able to fill the gap for the requirements. And we didn't think so because we saw that the market would need a lot of gas in the future. And I think that has bared fruit now that, you know, people absolutely now have changed their mind that you need renewables, you need, you know, some other sources if people have nuclear or whatever, but gas is absolutely needed as a base load maybe for another century. So I think the gas, you know, glut that some of the market analysts talk about, in our view, from our analysis, has disappeared because if you look at the delays in most of the projects that are going to come online in LNG, that has gone into the area where there was, you know, where there was a glut has been pushed back. So I think there's not going to be a glut, and I think there could be a shortage in 2030. [00:11:26] Speaker 1: A shortage? Well, we're already seeing a huge amount of gas coming out of Qatar, out of Australia, out of the United States as well, which is also actively investing in building out this industry. What gives you the confidence to say there won't be a glut? There's a lot of gas. [00:11:40] Speaker 2: I think the economic growth in many countries after the COVID has really slowed down. I think what's happening now with the tariff issue has also slowed down a little bit that trajectory, if you will, of correction and growth. I think once the U.S. and China have a deal and once things settle down and Europe starts to come back, I think you'll see growth in the world that will need much more gas because all the renewables that are needed, I think we should do more renewables. There's no issue with renewables because you need them. But the intermittency of renewables are not going to really make up the huge growth that's required. You need sustained power for growth. [00:12:31] Speaker 1: Just on oil as well, you mentioned that window previously with 70 USD being the floor. Prices are much below that now. Are you concerned about the state of the industry and the level of investment if we don't see a material return to higher prices? [00:12:45] Speaker 2: I think if we remain below 70 for a long time, a lot of the companies will be out of the market and investment. And I think, you know, some companies can be resilient enough to actually weather that storm for some time. But the majority of the smaller industry players, you know, will not be investing. And then slowly, you know, the bigger companies, also our size companies, axons of the world and shells and totals of the world will start really reducing their capital expenditure. And if that happens, supply will be in shortage eventually. [00:13:27] Speaker 1: Talk to me about what's happening in the Asia markets as well. China and India are essentially demanding lower prices in more favorable terms. So how is Qatar Energies responding to that? And do you think China's move to halt these U.S. imports of LNG is an opportunity for you? [00:13:44] Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm not sure. I've read about people demanding Qatar different things and lower prices and all that. You know, I mean, we're discussing and negotiating deals around the world with everybody that's buying LNGs coming to Qatar and to other suppliers. I have never, you know, seen or I have not seen recently anything to that effect. I mean, all buyers are asking for cheaper prices all the time. And all sellers are asking for more all the time. There's nothing different in the equation, if you will. But there's nothing peculiar about what's going on today. I think we have a very good relationship, whether it's with the Chinese buyers or the Indian buyers, and we have very cordial discussions. These discussions, you know, you could think something is done very quickly or you could be done with a negotiation very quickly. It could take longer. But I think we're, you know, we're the right partner for a lot of countries because of our track record in delivery. You know, the U.S. being a competitor, I think you mentioned, or are we worried about that? Not at all. I think we need plenty of gas to come into the market. The U.S. is the number one energy exporter in the world. They will be the largest for a long time. And we will be the second largest for a very long time. We serve different markets, in my view. And I think it's a very healthy competition. And it's to the benefit of the buyers to have more suppliers. [00:15:29] Speaker 1: And so what's next for Qatar Energy, particularly as you continue to invest in capacity? We're going to see more supply coming online. Back to the question on demand. Are those key Asian markets going to be able to soak up that much LNG, particularly as they face this trade and tariff war from this president? [00:15:48] Speaker 2: I think we have plenty of markets that need gas. And there are a lot of countries that are starting to just develop, you know, their gas sector and the need for building LNG, receiving terminals and so on. You look at Vietnam, Philippines, and many of these countries that have a huge growth population and economic growth that need power. And so I have no issue. India, I mean, India has an ambition to reach 15% of their, you know, power coming from gas. They're at 7% or 8%. You know, President, you know, President Moody's plan is working very well. I think he's doing a great job for their economy. And, you know, they will need a huge amount of gas in the future, something to the tune of 120 million tons is needed for India if they actually reach that ambition of 15%. China has similar ambition to increase their requirements. So I think Japan has also a requirement of addition in LNG, Korea, and so on.