5 things you need to know about the host country 2:01
(CNN Spanish) --
Qatar, the host of the 2022 Soccer World Cup, is known throughout the world for being one of the main producers of oil and natural gas, in a region - the Persian Gulf - mainly dedicated to the extraction of hydrocarbons.
This key role of Qatar in the world of energy has catapulted the country -and others like it- to the center of the global stage after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which strained global markets and launched initiatives to expand production. of oil and natural gas, and redirect supplies.
Can the US solve Europe's gas problem?
Which countries are, in this context, Qatar's main buyers and how much do their energy sales amount to?
Basic data of Qatar
Qatar is located on a peninsula surrounded by the Persian Gulf, and shares an 87-kilometre-long border with Saudi Arabia.
Its geography is mostly desert, with almost no elevations, and the climate is arid with mild winters and very hot summers.
Qatar will keep natural gas flowing to Europe 1:01
Its population of 2,508,182 people lives in an area of 11,586 square meters, with 563 kilometers of coastline.
Arabic is the official language and 65% profess Islam, although there are also significant Christian (13.7%) and Hindu (15.9%) minorities.
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Qatar's economy is based almost entirely on the extraction of oil and gas, mostly from a giant field in the Persian Gulf — the world's largest for natural gas — that it shares with Iran.
These significant revenues have brought nominal GDP per capita to US$61,276, one of the highest in the world (nominal GDP per capita is about US$93,500).
Qatar joined the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 1961, which brings together the main global producers and sets production quotas to control prices, but left the organization in 2019, in the midst of a conflict with other Gulf countries. .
Major buyers of oil and gas from Qatar
According to data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), in 2020 natural gas sales accounted for 47.1% of total exports, worth US$22.2 billion.
Meanwhile, crude oil accounted for 23% of exports (US$ 9,890 million) and refined oil 13% (US$ 6,140 million).
The industrial city of Ras Laffan, Qatar's main site for the production of liquefied natural gas, about 80 kilometers north of the capital, Doha, on February 6, 2017. (Credit: KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)
Together, oil and gas constituted 81.1% of Qatar's exports in this period, which are mostly destined for Asian markets.
Counting exports of nitrogenous fertilizers, polymers and other petroleum derivatives, it amounts to almost 90%.
The main buyers of natural gas from Qatar in 2020 were India (22.7%), China (19.1%), South Korea (16.6%), Japan (13.9%) and Taiwan (5.45 %).
In the case of crude oil, the main buyers for the same period were Japan (32.6%), Singapore (19.1%), South Korea (15.7%), China (14.3%) and India. (10.8%).
Meanwhile, for refined oil, the list of main clients was made up of Japan (26.6%), Taiwan (8.58%), Singapore (8.35%), South Korea (7.12%) and the United States. States (6.9%).
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Finally, considering all the products exported by Qatar, the main clients are Japan (17.1%), India (15.4%), China (15%), South Korea (12.8%) and Singapore (6%). ).
Qatar and the war in Ukraine
Qatar and other gas-producing countries were thrust into the spotlight in February this year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which put enormous strain — with significant price hikes — on global energy markets.
Specifically, the United States approached Qatar asking it to increase its production and allocate some to other markets.
Russia, like Qatar, is one of the world's leading producers of natural gas.
But unlike Qatar, which sells most of its production to Asia, Russia has Europe as its main customer, and this supply has begun to shrink precisely because of the war, which Brussels has condemned.
On February 22, two days before the invasion, Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi was quoted as saying by Reuters that it was "almost impossible" for his country to replace Russia's gas shipments to Europe, because almost all of its production was tied up by long-term contracts with Asian countries.
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