The decision to withdraw from OPEC came after Qatar, one of the world’s smallest oil producers but the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, reviewed ways to improve its global role and plan for a long-term strategy, Saad al-Kaabi said.

“Qatar announces its withdrawal from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) from January 1, 2019,” he told a news conference, adding that the organization had been informed of the decision on Monday morning and that Qatar would attend the OPEC meeting in Vienna this week.
The announcement comes ahead of OPEC’s meeting with allies including Russia on Dec. 6 and 7 to discuss production cuts.
The minister said the decision was not easy as Qatar has been a member of OPEC for 57 years, but the country’s impact on its production decisions is limited.

Al-Kaabi stressed that Qatar will continue to abide by all its commitments, like any other non-OPEC oil producer.

He said the decision to withdraw was in line with Qatar’s desire to focus its efforts on the development of the natural gas sector, while moving towards increasing LNG production from 77 million to 110 million tons per year.

He said the decision was not related to the political and economic boycott imposed on Qatar since June 2017 by Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s biggest producer, and three other Arab countries.