2016 Minerals Yearbook QATAR [ADVANCE RELEASE] U.S. Department of the Interior October 2019 U.S. Geological Survey The Mineral Industry of Qatar By Loyd M. Trimmer III and Philip A. Szczesniak In 2016, Qatar’s real gross domestic product (GDP) increased nonhydrocarbon sector, which accounted for 50.5% of real GDP, by 2.2% compared with an increase of 3.6% in 2015. Qatar increased by 5.6% in 2016 owing to additional Government was a major producer of aluminum (primary), ammonia, crude investment spending (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting petroleum, direct-reduced iron (DRI), helium, natural gas, Countries, 2017, p. 20, 99; Qatar Central Bank, 2017, p. 13, 21, sulfur, and urea. Qatar was the world’s fourth-ranked producer 47; Qatar National Bank S.A.Q., 2017, p. 7). of natural gas, accounting for 5.1% of global output, and the leading exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), accounting Production for 30% of the world’s LNG exports. According to BP p.l.c., In 2016, significant increases in production included that the country’s proven natural gas reserves were estimated to be of gasoline and kerosene, which increased by 24% and 13%, 24.3 trillion cubic meters, making it the country with the third respectively, compared with that of 2015. In 2016, significant largest proven natural gas reserves in the world, or 13.0% of decreases in production included that of residual fuel oil, which the world’s total, and the second largest natural gas reserves in was reported to have decreased by 57% compared with that of the Middle East and North Africa, behind Iran. Qatar was the 2015. Data on mineral production are in table 1. world’s second-ranked producer of helium, accounting for an estimated 31% of global output. Other mineral commodities Structure of the Mineral Industry produced in Qatar included cement, gypsum, lime, methanol, and sand. Qatar was a member of the Cooperation Council for Qatar Petroleum (QP) is a state-owned public corporation the Arab States of the Gulf, or the Gulf Cooperation Council that owned and operated exploration, refinery, and production (GCC), and a member of the Organization of the Petroleum facilities in Qatar. Through its subsidiaries, QP controlled all Exporting Countries (OPEC) (table 1; BP p.l.c., 2017, p. 26, 28, aspects of Qatar’s upstream and downstream crude petroleum 34–35; Qatar Central Bank, 2017, p. 21; Hamak, 2018). and natural gas sector, including the exploration, production, In 2016, the Government continued with implementation of the transport, storage, marketing, and sale of crude petroleum, Qatar National Vision (QNV 2030) with the goal of transforming gas-to-liquids (GTL), LNG, and natural gas liquids (NGL), Qatar into a diversified and knowledge-based economy by 2030. in addition to fertilizers and petrochemicals. Qatargas Co. This planning document sets long-term economic transformation (Qatargas), which was a subsidiary of Qatargas Operating goals aimed at reducing reliance on the hydrocarbon sector Co. Ltd. (OPCO), operated four primary LNG enterprises at through large investments in the industrial sector. The country Ras Laffan. Qatargas produced helium from two plants at Ras planned to spend $200 billion on the development of tourism Laffan. In December, QP announced plans to merge Qatargas and transportation infrastructure. Foreign investment is permitted and RasGas Co. Ltd., both subsidiaries of QP, to decrease under investment law No. (13) of 2000, which allows foreign operation costs. The merger was expected to be completed investors to own up to 100% of projects that involve the mining within 1 year (table 2; S&P Global Platts, 2016). and development of natural resources and development of the State-owned company Industries Qatar Q.S.C. (IQ) owned mining sector, upon the Government’s approval. The primary 80% of Qatar Petrochemical Co. Ltd. Q.S.C. (QAPCO); the sectors that attracted foreign direct investment were downstream remaining share (20%) was owned by Total S.A. of France. manufacturing, hydrocarbons, marketing, and transportation IQ also owned 50% of Qatar Fuel Additives Co. Ltd. Q.S.C. (U.S. Department of State, 2017). (QAFAC) [the remainder of QAFAC shares were owned by OPIC Middle East Corp. (20%), and International Octane Minerals in the National Economy Ltd. and LCY Middle East Corp. (15% each)], which mainly produced methanol, petrochemicals, and sulfur. IQ also held a In 2016, the value of the hydrocarbon sector decreased by 75% majority interest in Qatar Fertilizer Co. S.A.Q. (QAFCO) 1.0% owing to higher maintenance costs, maturing oilfields, (the remaining 25% was owned by Yara Netherland BV of the and the lower price of oil; despite the decrease, the sector Netherlands), which produced primarily ammonia and urea. continued to be the country’s primary economic sector, Qatar Aluminium Ltd. (QATALUM), which was a 50–50 joint accounting for 49.5% of real GDP. The value of Qatar’s total venture between QP and Norsk Hydro ASA (Norsk Hydro) of exports decreased by 21% to about $72.5 billion from about Norway, produced primary and secondary aluminum from its $92.0 billion in 2015, of which crude petroleum exports smelter at Mesaieed. Qatar Steel Co. Q.S.C. (QASCO), which decreased to about $23.0 billion from $28.5 billion. The average was a wholly owned subsidiary of IQ, produced hot-briquetted price of the country’s export blend decreased to $41.43 per barrel iron and DRI, steel-reinforcing bar (rebar), steel billets, and steel in 2016 from $50.71 per barrel in 2015. Lower oil prices and the coils, in addition to lime. QASCO was the sole iron and steel slight decrease in hydrocarbon production resulted in a production company in Qatar (table 2; Industries Qatar Q.S.C., 22.1% decrease in Government revenues from hydrocarbons 2017, p. 9–11; Norsk Hydro ASA, 2017, p. 145). sales. Hydrocarbon revenue as a share of total Government revenue decreased to 82.4% from 93% in 2015. The QATAR—2016 [ADVANCE RELEASE] 57.1 Commodity Review In 2016, Qatargas continued with construction of the Barzan gas project. Although the Barzan project was expected to Metals begin production in November 2016, the project startup had been delayed because of a leak in an upstream pipeline in Aluminum.—In 2016, QATALUM produced about October 2016. The $10 billion project, which was a joint venture 612,000 metric tons (t) of aluminum compared with 610,000 t in between Qatargas (93%) and ExxonMobil (7%), consisted of 2015. The company’s complex, which consisted of an aluminum offshore wellhead platforms and an onshore gas-processing smelter, casthouse, carbon anode plant, and powerplant, had unit, a sulfur recovery unit, and an NGL recovery unit. The a total production capacity of 640,000 tons per year (t/yr), Barzan project would process associated natural gas from the of which extrusion billets accounted for 340,000 t/yr, and North Field natural gas deposit and had an expected capacity foundry alloys, 300,000 t/yr. The carbon plant had the capacity of 14.3 billion cubic meters per year of natural gas. The project to produce 320,000 t/yr of anodes. QATALUM reported that was also expected to produce 800,000 t/yr of sulfur, 12.4 million its aluminum products were exported to 30 countries. Norsk barrels per year (Mbbl/yr) of ethane, 10.2 Mbbl/yr of field and Hydro supplied all QATALUM’s alumina needs for aluminum plant condensates, 3.8 Mbbl/yr of propane, and 2.7 Mbbl/yr of production and purchased all aluminum production from butane. The project was expected to begin operations in the QATALUM. The company operated under a 10-year income tax second half of 2017 (Doherty, 2011; Petroleum Economist, exemption that was scheduled to expire in 2020. QATALUM 2015; Economist, The, 2016; Ratcliffe, 2017). sourced electricity from a dedicated natural gas powerplant that Petroleum.—In 2016, Qatar’s production of crude petroleum was supplied with natural gas by QP under a 40-year supply and condensate increased slightly to about 693.2 million barrels contract (the contract was scheduled to expire in 2049) (table 2; (Mbbl) from 690.0 Mbbl in 2015. In 2016, the country exported Qatar Aluminium Ltd., 2013; Littlegate Publishing Ltd., 2015; about 183 Mbbl of crude petroleum to the Asia and the Pacific Norsk Hydro ASA, 2017, p. 21, 69, 71, 163). region and 730,000 barrels of crude petroleum to Africa. Three Iron and Steel.—Crude (raw) steel output decreased slightly fields—Al Shaheen, the Dukhan, and the Idd Al-Shargi fields— to 2.5 million metric tons (Mt) in 2016 from 2.6 Mt in 2015. accounted for more than 85% of the country’s crude petroleum DRI production decreased to 2.5 Mt from a revised 2.6 Mt in production capacity. In June, QP announced the establishment 2015. In 2016, 65% of QASCO’s total sales volume was sold of the North Oil Co., which was a joint venture of QP (70%) domestically, 30% was sold to the other GCC countries, and and Total S.A. (30%). The company would further develop 5% was sold to others (table 1; Qatar Steel Q.S.C., 2017, p. 28). and operate the Al-Shaheen oilfield. The Al-Shaheen oilfield currently produced about 40% of the country’s crude petroleum, Mineral Fuels and Related Materials or about 300,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) (tables 1, 2; Mirza, Helium.—In 2016, Qatar was estimated to have produced Adal, 2016; Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, about 50 million cubic meters of helium, which remained 2017, p. 57). unchanged from that of 2015.