Doha- The Minister of State for Energy Affairs in the State of Qatar, Saad bin Sherida Al-Kaabi, revealed his country’s success in achieving a qualitative leap in the field of solar energy, as it moved from not having any dependence on this source 5 or 6 years ago to 15% currently, aiming to reach 30% before the year 2030.
Al-Kaabi confirmed – in statements during one of the sessions of the Doha Forum 2025, whose 23rd edition began in the Qatari capital today, Saturday – that the appropriate price for a barrel of oil is between 70 and 80 dollars, warning that current prices may push companies to lay off workers and reduce capital spending, which threatens an energy shortage crisis by 2035.
The Qatari Minister stressed the importance of increasing investment in the oil and gas sector, noting the importance of supporting this sector to ensure global energy security in light of increasing demand driven by new factors, led by artificial intelligence.
Al-Kaabi expected global demand for liquefied natural gas to rise by 2035, explaining that there are new global needs that constitute a “fixed basic load” that is radically different from traditional demand, in addition to the need of more than a billion people around the world who do not have basic electricity.
Expansion of solar energy
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As part of Qatar’s efforts to diversify energy sources and reduce carbon emissions, the Qatari Minister of Energy revealed a qualitative leap in his country’s reliance on solar energy, as it went from not having any solar energy 6 years ago to obtaining 15% of solar energy currently.
Al-Kaabi added that Qatar aims to raise this percentage to 30% before 2030, as part of its commitment to reducing the carbon footprint despite the huge expansion in the production of liquefied natural gas, fertilizers and polymers.
He pointed out that Qatar has succeeded in increasing its capacity to capture and sequester carbon dioxide from 2.5 million tons annually – which is the largest project in the Middle East and North Africa region – to what will reach 11 million tons by 2030, and 13 million tons by 2035.
The Qatari Minister also pointed out that all the ships requested by Qatar, numbering more than 128, operate on liquefied natural gas and adhere to the best possible emissions standards, without exception, stressing that Qatar is “doing everything in its power” to achieve a balance between economic growth and environmental sustainability.
The right price for a barrel of oil
In light of the fluctuations in global oil prices and their direct impact on the entire energy sector, including liquefied natural gas contracts linked to oil prices, the Qatari Minister of Energy set a price range that he deems “appropriate” to achieve a balance between the interests of producers and consumers.
Al-Kaabi said that the appropriate price for oil is between $70 and $80 per barrel, a range that “gives us sufficient revenues and returns to enable us to invest in the future,” adding that prices above $90 would be “too high for consumers.”
The Qatari Minister attributed the decline in oil prices to two main factors: an abundance of production capacity, especially on the oil side, and the global economic slowdown, expecting this abundance to decline with the beginning of the global economic recovery.
He stressed the importance of achieving a price balance, saying, “We want healthy customers and buyers who can afford these energy products, but prices must be within a comfortable range, so that they are affordable for the buyer and at the same time provide us with sufficient cash flows to achieve returns and invest in future capital expenditures.”
The importance of investments in energy
The Qatari Minister of Energy painted a bleak picture of what the world might face if the decline in pumping money into oil and gas projects continues.
Al-Kaabi said, “I do not have any concerns about future demand. Rather, I am concerned about the lack of investments to add new supplies, which will lead to higher prices,” warning that the oil and gas sector would then be blamed “for the rise in oil or gas prices, even though we did not cause it.”
He added, “I have been calling for a decade to increase investment in oil and gas and not to demonize it, but rather to support it. Legislative bodies must play a major role in this.”
The Qatari minister warned of the possibility of an “energy shortage crisis” occurring by 2035, explaining that the world is witnessing a growth in demand for electricity driven by multiple factors, most notably the needs of artificial intelligence, which were not taken into account when planning investments.
“The energy needed for artificial intelligence is completely different from traditional household energy, as it is part of the base load that any company needs,” he noted, explaining that every country he talks to has “an additional increase in demand between 10% and 20% that will come from artificial intelligence.”
He pointed out that there are more than a billion people around the world who “do not have basic electricity,” stressing that providing them with energy “in order to eradicate poverty” requires huge investments in energy infrastructure.
Future energy challenges
In light of rapid transformations in the global energy landscape, the Qatari Minister of Energy has drawn the features of a future characterized by an increasing demand for liquefied natural gas, driven by factors that were not taken into account a few years ago, most notably artificial intelligence and the energy transition.
Al-Kaabi revealed that Qatar expects global demand for liquefied natural gas to rise, with an additional 200 to 300 million tons of liquefied natural gas by 2035.
He added that global economies, which have been growing slowly for a long time, will need “new power plants” and “gas to operate factories and provide jobs” when they begin to recover and grow more actively, stressing that “all economies will recover at some point, and all of these things are cyclical.”
As part of Qatar’s efforts to respond to this increasing demand, Al-Kaabi pointed out that his country has been in a state of continuous expansion for some time, as the first production unit within the new expansion is expected to begin work “in the third or fourth quarter of next year.”
He explained that Qatar announced plans to move from producing 77 million tons to 142 million tons within the country, in addition to about 18 million tons in the United States through the “Golden Pass” station, which raises Qatar’s total production capacity to 160 million tons.
He pointed out that Qatar will also double its production of fertilizers “from 6 million tons of ammonia, as the second largest producer of fertilizers, to become the largest in the world, to 12 million,” in addition to a 200% increase in the production of polymers.
In a clear position on the issue of net zero emissions, the Qatari minister stressed that Qatar will not reach this goal, saying: “Saying that we will remain at zero is a blatant lie. We do not maneuver, we say things as they are and we believe that if we can achieve something we will announce it, and if we cannot, we will say so frankly.”
The Doha Forum 2025, which is held under the slogan “Consolidating Justice: From Promises to Tangible Reality,” is a high-level global platform that brings together world leaders, decision-makers and experts to discuss the most prominent challenges facing the international community.
Over the course of Saturday and Sunday, the Sheraton Doha Hotel will host the sessions of the forum in its 23rd edition, with the participation of leaders and officials of a number of countries.
In total, more than 6,000 people and 471 speakers from about 160 countries are participating in the forum in its current edition, to discuss pivotal issues including food security, energy, climate change, artificial intelligence, and regional conflicts, as part of the forum’s endeavor to transform theoretical discussions into practical, applicable solutions.
