Qatar, which has been a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) since 1961, has announced plans to leave the OPEC on 1 January 2019. Qatar's crude oil production (around 0.7 mb/d since 2010) represents approximately 2% of the OPEC's total oil output. Most of the domestic oil output is controlled by the state-run company Qatar Petroleum, which holds a majority stake in all the oil and gas project contracts with international oil companies (IOCs). The government said that the move was not politically motivated but rather represents a technical and strategic change, which fits in its long-term strategy.
The country will now focus primarily on its liquefied natural gas (LNG) business and continue to secure its position as the world's largest LNG exporter. In recent years, the government has been moving forward with the reorganisation of the LNG business and approved the merger of the two state-owned LNG producers QatarGas and RasGas into QatarGas in January 2018.
In September 2018, Qatar raised its LNG capacity expansion target, from 100 Mt/year to 110 Mt/year, representing an increase of 43% from its current production capacity of 77 Mt/year. State-run leading market player Qatar Petroleum now plans to build a fourth LNG train of around 8.6 Mt/year, on top of the three 7.8 Mt/year train previously announced and expected in 2024, adding 32 Mt/year of liquefaction capacity. This expansion is expected to strengthen Qatar's leading position on the global market.