QATAR MARKET REPORT
February 2021
Prepared by
Innovation Norway Middle East
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Skyline of Doha Photo by Florian Wehde on Unsplash (modified) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Qatar is well known as a small but wealthy nation in the Middle East. Its economy is built around its vast natural gas resources and up until recently have been heavily dependent on the other gulf states for supply of consumer goods, food, etc. The country aims to transform itself into a knowledge- based economy by 2030. However, Qatar’s economy is still heavily driven by government and quasi- governmental entities. In 2010, Qatar won the bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2022 which is planned to take place in November – December 2022. The event is expected to attract 1.5 million international visitors and over four billion television viewers. In 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt imposed an economic and political blockade on Qatar, forcing the country to rethink the policy regarding its own economy structure and attractiveness for foreign company establishment and investment. After more than 3 years of boycott, in January 2021, the GCC states signed a “solidarity and stability” agreement in Al-Ula Summit that was followed by announcements of restoring relations with Qatar from the four Arab countries. Following the start of blockade in 2017, the government of Qatar accelerated its efforts to diversify its economy through several initiatives and increase self-sufficiency on food sector. Also, some initiatives were launched to attract foreign investment and ease up the business environment. Doha intends to become a leader in relation to business and foreign investment environment and is constantly working to challenge the UAE’s (Dubai) position as regional business hub. Until recently, Norway had a stronger footprint in Qatar through joint ventures with Qatar Petroleum – QAFCO (Yara) and Qatalum (Norsk Hydro); in 2020 Yara sold its stakes in QAFCO. Nevertheless, a fair number of Norwegian companies, either directly or indirectly, are servicing or supplying projects in Qatar. Still, we are noticing increasing interest from Norway towards Qatari market. Usually, the most successful foreign companies in Qatar are those that have some sort of presence in the country. Therefore, for Norwegian companies to succeed, their commitment, continuous presence, and understanding the market synergies are some of the most important elements. The most promising opportunities for foreign companies in Qatar remain within Energy, Infrastructure, ICT, Food value chain, Healthcare, and Defence in the short to mid-term. Innovation Norway assesses Oil & Gas value chain, Maritime, Aquaculture, Agri-tech, and Smart cities solutions (Digital technologies) to be the most relevant areas for Norwegian companies’ engagement. The most significant opportunities seem to be within Qatar Petroleum’s North Field Expansion plans, its huge LNG ship orders, and Qatar’s quest for food security. As the country prepares for the FIFA World Cup 2022, with major infrastructure projects close to their end, digitalization, cyber security, and smart solution remain highly relevant for Qatar’s market. Nevertheless, upcoming domains of Blue/Green Hydrogen, Carbon Capture and Storage, Circular Economy, and Fin-tech are fast arriving, which comparably can be of interest. This report intends to provide a general introduction for those interested in conducting business in Qatar. It should not be taken as comprehensive and definite advice. It is important to note that Qatar is a dynamic market and regulations may change constantly. Therefore, we advise to obtain professional assistance when evaluating the market. This report is updated with available data as of Q4 2020. Largest upcoming projects in the most relevant sectors can be found in the appendices.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary ...... 1 Country Overview ...... 3 Qatar Economy ...... 4 Overview ...... 4 Human Development and Unemployment ...... 6 Competitveness and Ease of Doing Business ...... 7 Corruption ...... 7 Protection of Intellectual Property ...... 8 Qatari Market ...... 8 Overview ...... 8 Soft Issues and Challenges ...... 8 Ways to do Business in Qatar ...... 10 Legal system & Disputes solution ...... 14 Employment ...... 15 Qatarization & Localization Programs ...... 15 Tax regime ...... 16 Investment Incentives ...... 17 Relevant Sectors ...... 17 Petroleum Industry ...... 19 Maritime ...... 24 Food Security and Food Production ...... 28 Smart Cities ...... 30 Other Areas ...... 31 Conclusions & recommendations ...... 32 Appendices ...... 34
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COUNTRY OVERVIEW
Qatar is an independent constitutional emirate on the west coast of the Persian Gulf. It occupies a small desert headland that extends northward from the larger Arabian Peninsula. The land has been continuously but sparsely inhabited since prehistoric times. Qatar only shares land border with Saudi Arabia. The country is divided into 8 municipalities: Al Shamal, Al Khor, Al Sheehaniya, Umm Salal, Al Daayen, Doha, Al Rayyan and Al Wakrah. Its capital, Doha, is located on the eastern coast and home to most of country’s inhabitants. Qatar is a member of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and like other GCC states its population is dominant by expatriates (mostly from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Egypt).1 Arabic is its official language and English is widely spoken.
State of Qatar
Capital Doha Population ~2.7 million Area 11,586 km2 Ethnic composition Qatari 11.6% (2015 est.) Non-Qatari 88.4 Arabic (official) Languages English (widely spoken) Muslim (official) 68% Religions (2015 est.) Christian 14% Hindu 14% Female: 81.9 years Life expectancy (2018) Male: 79 years Literacy 93.5% Qatari Riyal (pegged to US Dollar) Currency 1 QAR = 3.64 US$
Source: The World Factbook / Britannica Source: CIA Maps
Ruled by the Al Thani family since the mid-1800s, Qatar within the last 60 years transformed itself from a poor British protectorate mainly noted for pearling into an independent state with significant oil and natural gas revenues. After announcement of Britain’s plans to withdraw from the gulf, Qatar, together with Bahrain, was part of negotiations with neighboring sheikhdoms - now comprising the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – to form a federation. However, due to some disputes Qatar withdrew from the original plan and declared independence on 3 September 1971. Following decades of siphoning off petroleum revenues by Qatari emirs permanently residing in Europe, Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani overthrew his father in a bloodless coup in 1995 and started transforming the State into its modern stage as one of the economically most successful countries in the world. In the 2000s, Qatar resolved its longstanding border disputes with both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and by 2007 attained the highest per capita income in the world. The homogeneity of the ruling family and the country’s wealth contribute to Qatar’s political stability.2
1 Qatar Population and Expat Nationalities (onlineqatar.com) 2 Qatar - Government and society | Britannica
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Although small in size, Qatar has taken a prominent role in the Middle East (ME), serving as meditator for regional conflicts. However, over the last decade Qatar’s relationships with its neighbors have been under stress. From 2011 Qatar supported regional “Arab Spring” revolutions, stressing the relations with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Although the current Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani worked to warm the relations, the 3 GCC members plus Egypt cut diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar in June 2017 and imposed immediate air, land, and sea blockade. They called upon Qatar to comply with 13 demands to restore relations. The main reasons that were disclosed included Qatar’s continued ties with Iran; its support for the Muslim Brotherhood and terrorism; and the operation of Al Jazeera network. After more than 3 years of boycott, in January 2021, the GCC states signed a “solidarity and stability” agreement in Al-Ula summit that was followed by announcements of restoring relations with Qatar from the four Arab countries.3
FIGURE 1 Key dates in Qatar’s history4:
QATAR ECONOMY
OVERVIEW Qatar is endowed with rich oil and gas deposits making it among the world’s richest economies. In 2019, Qatar’s GDP per capita was ranked 8th globally just behind Singapore.5 The country is the world’s 5th largest gas producer, 2nd largest gas exporter, and the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in a tight competition with Australia. Up to 70% of government income is generated from oil and gas sales. Nevertheless, the country is working to reduce reliance on its hydrocarbon resources by introducing reforms to challenge public spending and diversify its economy through promoting the role of the private sector and SMEs. In the past few years, Qatar has developed other industries such as tourism, finance, ammonia, fertilizers, petrochemicals, steel, cement, and commercial ship repair. Overall, Qatar can be considered as an affluent market with a growing population, dynamic economy, and business-friendly environment.6
3 The GCC al-Ula Statement: Perhaps a step, but not a solution | Middle East Institute (mei.edu) 4 Qatar profile - Timeline - BBC News 5 GDP per capita (current US$) | Data (worldbank.org) 6 Qatar market guide - great.gov.uk
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As per data from 2018, Qatar’s top trading partners for exports were Korea, Japan, China, India, Singapore and for imports were the USA, China, India, Germany, and the UK.7 Following trade restriction imposed by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt in 2017, Qatar established new trade routes with other countries (Turkey, Oman, Kuwait, Iran, and India) to maintain access to imports. The economic blockade was expected to have serious negative impact on Qatar’s economy, given that one-sixth of its import was from Saudi Arabia and the UAE and that Qatari banks relied on lending from their GCC peers. However, the impact of regional blockade on Qatar’s economy has been far less severe than expected. Although its oil and gas industry were not affected much by the blockade, other sectors such as air travel, tourism, and real estate sectors have taken considerable hits. The boycott has forced Qatar to become more self-reliant especially for the food production and has been a boost for accelerating the long-term strategy of diversifying Qatar’s economy from a gas-centric economy. Furthermore, it motivated the government of Qatar to ease up the regulations and constraints for attracting foreign investment and foreign company establishment. In following years, Qatar Petroleum (QP) inked several long-term supply agreements with companies in Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, Thailand, and Pakistan and increased investments in overseas projects. These include taking positions in hydrocarbon blocks of Brazil, Oman, Mexico, South Africa, Argentina, Cyprus, Morocco, and Mozambique and investing over US$10 billion in the Golden Pass Terminal in Sabine Pass, Texas.8 In 2010, Qatar was awarded to host the FIFA World Cup 2022. The event is expected to attract 1.5 million international visitors and over four billion television viewers. Consequently, in preparation for the event, the State needed to invest exponentially in subsequent years (US$ 200 billion) in areas such as infrastructure construction and development, tourism, hospitality, and creative industries.9 Qatar is dedicated to becoming a global sport business hub and will be hosting several international sporting competitions in the coming years. It has been widely broadcasted that the surge in infrastructure investment will not slow down after the tournament, as the country works towards “the Qatar National Vision 2030” that is focused on economic, social, human, and environmental development. By 2030, Qatar aims to be an advanced society capable of sustaining its development and providing a high standard of living. However, it is still unclear how Qatar can maintain the momentum of economic growth after the FIFA World Cup in sectors outside its conventional Gas and LNG expansion plans. As it can be noted from Table 1, like many other locations in the world, Covid-19 pandemic impacted Qatar’s economy adversely. The consequences of Russia-Saudi oil price-war just before start of the pandemic, which was amplified by weakened demand during the pandemic, resonated through the LNG markets, especially for oil-linked LNG contracts. While Qatar is shielded from spot oil price instability thanks to the long-term LNG contracts, its high dependence on oil-linked contracts resulted in significant drop of export revenues. Nevertheless, natural gas prices, all in all, were weak prior to the OPEC+ and COVID-19 tremors due to a warm winter in major markets in 2019 and projection of overflow of US gas supply into the global market.10 COVID-19 and the sharp fall in hydrocarbon revenues estimated to have resulted in 4.5% contraction of Qatar’s real GDP growth in 2020. Further contraction has been mitigated by government’s fiscal and monetary response,
7 Qatar Trade | WITS Data (worldbank.org) 8 export.gov 9 Qatar market guide - great.gov.uk 10 pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/635631554825488462/mpo-qat.pdf
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infrastructure related spending in preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2022, and continued expansion of the State’s LNG capacity.
TABLE 1 Qatar: Selected Economic and Financial Indicators, 2017–202311
PROJECTIONS INDICATOR / YEAR 2017 2018 2019 2020 e 2021 f 2022 f 2023 f Real GDP growth (% change) -1.5 1.2 0.8 -4.5 2.5 3.9 2 GDP per capita (US$) 59,130 66,420 62,920 52,750 55,420 58,960 61,370 GDP (in US$ billion) 161.1 183.34 175.84 147.79 155.57 165.92 173.13 Consumer price inflation (% change; average) 0.5 0.2 -0.6 -2.2 1.8 2.9 2.5 Overall fiscal balance % of GDP -6.6 2.2 1.8 -3.6 -3.7 1.2 Fiscal Breakeven Oil Price (US$) 46.9 48-7 46.6 42.0 38.1 External Breakeven Oil Price (US$) 45.7 52 56.7 41.4 42.0
Source: IMF DataMapper, October 2020 & World Bank
Qatar’s credit standing and market access stays strong on the back of its foreign exchange reserves which is equal to 18 months of its imports (July 2020) and the sovereign wealth fund above US$ 300 billion in assets under management. Country’s real GDP growth is forecasted to turn positive in 2021 as it is expected that with control of pandemic energy price stabilizes, global LNG demand picks-up, and economic sentiments improve. Improvement of Qatar’s relationships with neighboring countries is likely to further support the recovery path and creation of business opportunities. Furthermore, it is expected that steps taken for the enhancement of business environment, as well as acceleration to finish projects related to the delivery and legacy of the World Cup and the country’s plan for expansion of its natural gas production and LNG capacity will drive growth in the medium-term.12 However, Qatar’s path does not seem easy since its market domination on the back of low-cost LNG export is being challenged by emerging producers, particularly, Australia, the USA, and in the future Egypt and Mozambique.13
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT As per 2020 reports, Qatar ranks 45 globally on the Human Development Index; 5th place in the ME after Israel (19), the UAE (31), Saudi Arabia (40) and Bahrain (42).14 According to the World Bank, its unemployment rate was 0.14% of the total labor force in 2019. In general, poverty and unemployment are not problems of Qatari citizens as over 90% of Qataris are employed in the public sector or in public-private enterprises. Contrary, expatriates (who represent more than 90% of Qatar’s workforce) are more likely to suffer job and/or income losses especially in times such as current economic downturn caused by the pandemic.15 According to Qatar’s Planning and Statistic Authority website, country’s population decreased by 4.4% between May 2020 and December 202016, which may serve as indication of this fact.
11 Qatar and the IMF 12 pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/635631554825488462/mpo-qat.pdf 13 Qatar's Economic Update — April 2020 (worldbank.org) 14 Latest Human Development Index Ranking | Human Development Reports (undp.org) 15 pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/635631554825488462/mpo-qat.pdf 16 Monthly Figures on Total Population (psa.gov.qa)
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COMPETITVENESS AND EASE OF DOING BUSINESS Qatar’s government has supported both economic and population growth in recent years and envisioned a development plan (Qatar National Vision 2030) to "transform Qatar into an advanced society capable of achieving sustainable development”.17 In 2019, Qatar’s economy in terms of competitiveness was ranked 29th globally; 3rd place in the ME after Israel (20th) and the UAE (25th).18 Furthermore, the State embarked on an ambitious program to improve its business regulations which resulted in securing a spot in the top 20 global business environment improvers, according to the World Bank. In Doing Business 2020 report, Qatar ranked 77 out of 190 economies, 6 positions improvement from 2019 which was largely due to a considerable improvement in the registering property indicator (see figure 3 and appendix 1). 19
FIGURE 2 Qatar economy competitiveness (performance overview 2019)
Taken from World Economic Forum, The Global Competitiveness Report 219 IMF DataMapper, October 2020 & World Bank FIGURE 3 Qatar 2020 ranking on Doing Business factors (out of 190 countries)
Taken from World Bank, Doing Business 2020 Report
CORRUPTION Corruption in Qatar does not generally affect business; however, powerful personal connections have the possibility to exercise a major role in business culture. 20 Nevertheless, Qatar ranked 30th in the world on Transparency International’s 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index, with a score of 63/100 (with 100 being very transparent). According to the index Qatar is one of the least corrupt countries in the ME; 2nd behind the UAE (21).21
17 www.diwan.gov.qa 18 WEF_TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2019.pdf (weforum.org) 19 QAT.pdf (doingbusiness.org) 20 export.gov 21 2020 - CPI - Transparency.org
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PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Qatar ranked 26 out of 129 countries on 2020 International Property Rights index (appendix 2), placing 3rd in the ME behind the UAE (21) and Israel (25).22 The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI) oversees Trademark, Copyright, and Intellectual Property policy in Qatar. In 2015, Qatar became the first GCC country to open a Patent Cooperation Treaty Registration Office, where applicants may obtain protection for an invention in 148 countries. Trademark and copyright owners and patents holders in Qatar are dependent on country’s own national laws and regulations for protection.23
QATARI MARKET
OVERVIEW Qatar (Doha) intends to become a leader in relation to business and foreign investment environment and is constantly working to challenge the UAE’s (Dubai) position as regional business hub. The country has one of the fastest growing economies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and offers a lucrative market for foreign companies that are ready to adapt and adopt a right approach. Qatar is politically stable, has developed good infrastructures in recent years, and offers low cost for energy. The Qatari banking sector which is dominated by local banks has grown robustly in recent years mainly due to large investments in real estate, infrastructure, and transportation projects in preparation for FIFA World Cup 2022. Moody’s credit rating for Qatar was last set as Aa3 with stable outlook. In recent years, the government of Qatar has introduced several incentives to encourage investments, diversify the economy, and reduce excessive spending in line with “Qatar National Vision 2030” guidelines. In May 2020, MOCI announced the issuance of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) law which clearly defines a legal framework for such engagements. Although prior to issuance of this law several PPP projects were executed in Qatar, the MOCI aims to streamline and increase private sector participation in major projects of the country. Furthermore, the government is considering ways to simplify doing business in the country across many sectors, including manufacturing, hospitality, real estate, energy, health, and education. Similar to other GCC states’ markets, the most successful companies in Qatar are those who have some sort of local presence. The government is the central actor in Qatar's economy; however, it strongly encourages international investment. In most circumstances, local incorporation and registration is required for dealing with government contracts.
SOFT ISSUES AND CHALLENGES It is essential to understand Qatar’s local business culture and show a genuine commitment towards its market. Although Doha is a cosmopolitan city, Qatar is still an Islamic state and it is important that foreign companies familiarize themselves with the Islamic traditions when doing business.
22 Qatar (internationalpropertyrightsindex.org) 23 Exporting to Qatar - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
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Furthermore, similar to their other Middle Eastern peers, Qataris prefer to conduct business face- to-face. Longer and frequent market visits early in the process may prove to be rewarding later on. Qataris do not appreciate short-term transactional approaches of doing business from abroad anymore. Businesses operating in Qatar underscore the value of building relationships and being locally present in one form or another (commercial agency/distributorship or locally incorporated company), especially, when dealing it with Qatari clients/partners. In most governmental tenders, companies that seek to deliver from overseas can be at disadvantage compared to their competitors who already have a local presence. This is to the extent that it is becoming harder for companies operating from other GCC markets (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or Bahrain) to compete against Qatari incorporated businesses.24 Challenges of doing business in or with Qatari market:25, 26 & 27
• Repercussions of tensed relations with the neighboring countries (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt) in the past 3 years may exhibit lingering aftermaths for some time. • Qatar has relatively small domestic market, limited skilled workforce, and high cost of living. • Complex, lengthy, and bureaucratic business procedures are not rare, since some procedures are not standardized, and government staff sometimes provide conflicting information. • Generally, Qatari market is becoming more and more price driven. • Delays in payments are not uncommon by both Qatari private sector and the Governmental entities after the completion of large or small projects. • There is lack of transparency in government procurements which particularly arise from lack of clarity in the conditions of tenders, improper notification to non-qualifying companies, and the inability of bidders to formally challenge the awards. • Suppliers that use local contents are given preferential treatment in government procurement bids. Bids for government contracts that comprise goods with Qatari content are discounted by 10%. Furthermore, participation in bids with a value of QAR 5 million (US$1.37 million) or less is limited to locally registered contractors/suppliers. • Qatar’s market is not well regulated, especially for environmental matters. • It can be expensive to operate a business in Qatar due to requirement to appoint a 51% Qatari partner, multiple governmental fees, and compulsory office space rentals. • Decision making process is slow and finalization of deals tend to take longer than expected. • Qatar does not have very transparent system of rulemaking. • While there is no restriction on the flow of capital, restricted liquidity within the local banking market may occur. Priority for bank loans is given to local organizations for the purpose of public development projects. • According to law, importation of goods and services from Israel is prohibited; this extends to content or portion of a product/service.
24 What are the challenges? - Doing Business in Qatar Guide (doingbusinessguide.co.uk) 25 Exporting to Qatar - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 26 Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Qatar - Investing - Nordea Trade Portal 27 export.gov
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WAYS TO DO BUSINESS IN QATAR Generally, any non-Qatari company, who is planning to do business or already conducting business in Qatar (beyond direct export), is required to either establish a legal presence, e.g. incorporation of entity or branch office, or engage with a local partner. Below we consider the available options.
BUSINESS VEHICLES IN MAINLAND Forming an Entity Under Commercial Companies Law Until recently, foreign companies/individuals who were looking to incorporate an entity in Qatar under Commercial Companies Law, as general rule, except in certain industries, had no option but partnering up with Qatari nationals or a 100% Qatari owned company. They would end up forming an entity with restricted ownership of maximum 49% for the foreign investor. However, in 2019, Qatar introduced a new Foreign Investment Law which came into force in July 2020. The new law not only allows foreign investment in all sectors (except banking and insurance which need cabinet authorization) but also permits the foreign investor seek up to 100% ownership in a Qatari company. The latter is subject to fulfillment of certain requirements and approval of competent department in the MOCI. Previously, possibility of exceeding 49% foreign ownership (up to 100%) was restricted to agriculture activities, manufacturing, energy and mining, healthcare services, tourism, telecommunication, leisure and entertainment, and consultancy services.28 The new law also increased foreign investment cap in Qatari public shareholding companies up to 49%. It is possible to exceed this cap subject to decision of cabinet upon recommendation of the MOCI. In general, it is likely that approvals for exceeding 49% foreign ownership in the Qatari firm be granted to larger multinationals that have long-term approach towards Qatar. The successful applications demonstrate utilization of local raw materials, produce export-oriented goods, use new technologies, target to localize industry leaders or have plans to transfer technology and provide training to Qataris. Therefore, it is recommended to seek this option only for significant investments with plans to hire locally and transfer technology within few months after incorporation. The Companies Law of Qatar has defined 8 types of business vehicles, out of which the Limited Liability Company (LLC) is the most relevant and prevalent for the foreign investors.29 Depending on the type of activity, Qatari Shareholding Company (QSC) could also be a feasible option. Below we briefly consider both options that are subject to Corporate Income Tax.
Limited Liability Company (LLC) Main highlights of an LLC are: • No minimum share capital requirement except for specific activities • Allows 1-50 shareholders; can be used as a vehicle for Joint Venture agreements • Ownership: 51% Qatari(s) – 49% foreign party(s) if not exempted • Covers all sectors and activities except banking, insurance and investment activities • Cannot combine non-relevant/conflicting activities under one license; some activities may require approval(s) from pertinent authorities
28 Qatar Foreign Capital Investment Law: Issuance of the Executive Regulations | Al Tamimi & Company 29 doing-business-in-qatar.pdf (squirepattonboggs.com)
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Although the minimum share capital requirement has been scrapped, a paid capital of QAR 200,000 (~US$ 55,000) is often suggested to maximize the chances of the business prospect being approved. While equity of foreign investor is limited to 49%, usually, the foreign party may preserve the management and operations rights through supplementary agreements and define a variable profit share ratio or only agree on a lump sum annual fee for the Qatari partner. As mentioned earlier, the Qatari partner can be either individual(s) or company(s). Dealing with individuals is generally considered a riskier option as there are issues with regard to succession and heirs in case of death. Today, there are several companies in Qatar with the core business offering of corporate nomination services that can act as the foreign investor’s local partner in Qatar.
Qatari Shareholding Company (QSC) Main highlights of a QSC are: • Used for large-scale businesses, investment projects, insurance or banking • Requires ministerial resolution • Minimum 5 shareholders • Business is carried out by a board of directors A QSC can either be public or private shareholding company. A public QSC requires a minimum capital of QAR 10 million (~US$ 2.75 million) and if listed QAR 40 million (~US$ 11 million). A private QSC can be formed by a government entity or jointly by a foreign company and a government entity with a minimum capital of QAR 2 million (~US$ 550,000) and can issue multiple share classes.30
Branch Office The branch office in Qatar is quite different than what is known with similar name in the UAE. Only the foreign companies that are awarded a project/contract with a government or quasi-government entity can register a 100% owned Branch Office without the need of having a sponsor. However, a branch office can only be formed after the contract is awarded, just before signing the same, subject to approval of the competent department in the MOCI. According to the law, the branch offices are not separate legal entities from the mother companies and their scope of work is limited to supply of products/services or carrying out the job under that very specific contract. The branch offices in Qatar are not permanent establishments and upon completion of project will be terminated unless other government related contracts are secured, approved, and registered independently. A branch office does not require any share capital, cannot be converted to an LLC at later stage, and cannot work with private sector. A useful table that shows most relevant activities which can be covered by a Branch Office and/or an LLC is presented in appendix 3. The branch office is subject to Corporate Income Tax, if not exempted.
The Trade Representative Office The Trade Representative Office is another form of entity in Qatar that do not require a local partner. The representative office cannot have commercial functions/transactions in Qatar as its sole purpose is to promote products/services of the parent company. The Representative Office does not
30 Doing business in Qatar: overview | Practical Law (thomsonreuters.com)
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have a separate identity from the parent company. Although the office needs to be registered with Tax authorities, it is not subject to Corporate Income Tax in Qatar. However, the parent company may attract a 5% withholding tax on revenue generated from Qatar. A Trade Representative Office can be converted to an LLC (joint venture) or 100% foreign owned company at a later stage.
FREE ZONES / ESPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES In 2005, Qatar enacted a law for establishment of financial, technology and investment zones with the aim of diversifying its economy.
Qatar Free Zones (QFZ) Established in 2018, QFZ is the youngest free zone in the region that aims to offer seamless and less complex process for establishment of LLCs or foreign branches with possibility of 100% foreign ownership. Regulated by an independent authority, Qatar Free Zone Authority (QFZA), companies within the free zone are exempted from direct or indirect Corporate and Personal Income Tax for 20 years. Custom Duty does not apply for a free zone company since technically it is considered an offshore company. Direct business with mainland entities is permitted. Using the offshore company logic, these transactions are subject to local laws and regulations.
FIGURE 4 Locations of Qatar Free Zones
Taken from QFZA Brochure
Currently QFZA operates in two locations: Umm Alhoul (Port Free Zone) and Ras Bufontas (Airport Free Zone). Incorporation of a company in these zones for simple cases may take about 2 weeks and for complex cases may have a timeline of 4-8 weeks provided that all necessary documents are produced. Companies that would like to establish an entity within QFZ need to be export oriented and present an export plan. The economic activities permitted by QFZA can be found in appendix 4. QFZ shows more emphasis on sectors such as emerging technologies, logistics, chemical, maritime services, clean energy technology, food, healthcare, IT, communications, and industrial equipment.
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Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) QSTP, which is under umbrella of Qatar Foundation, is a free zone and incubation center designed to host tech companies and a network of startups. It is located on the north campus of Education City. Entities looking to incorporate within the QSTP can incorporate a new company or a branch office and must carry out activities that contribute to the technology advancement. QSTP may provide 3 different licence: 31
• Standard license: provides all free zone benefits • Restricted license: gives limited free zone benefits • Service license: for entities that deliver services to QSTP tenants without any free zone benefits Approval of a QSTP license is at discretion of QSTP management. Licensed companies must dedicate at least half of their resources in Qatar to the research and development; a prerequisite that makes entries to this free zone extremely limited. QSTP companies are not taxed, can directly trade with entities in the mainland Qatar, and are allowed to import goods and service free of any customs duties.
Qatar Financial Center (QFC) Established in 2005, the QFC is a special economic zone (not a free zone) that allows 100% foreign ownership. QFC functions similarly to Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) or Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), however, it does not have physical boundaries. There are various company incorporation options in QFC such as LLCs, general and limited partnerships, and protected cell entities. Business licenses in QFC divide into two categories:
• Regulated activities that require approval: insurance companies, funds and wealth management firms, investment and retails banking, brokage offices, and securities operations • Non-regulated activities that support financial services: audit, law firms and accounting QFC has started to accept non-financial related applications such as advertising agencies, architectural consultancies, accreditation, project management, management consultancy, IT consultancy and environmental consulting. With some exceptions, companies in QFC are subject to Corporate Income Tax.
Manateq Established in 2011, Manateq is the leading state-run developer and operator of the Special Economic Zones. Manatq’s mission is to cater to the national initiative for creation of special economic zones clusters which operate as free zone style industrial, logistics and warehousing parks. Activities of each economic zone vary, but mostly include construction, building materials, metals, chemicals, plastics, petrochemicals, food manufacturing, and storage.
31 doing-business-in-qatar.pdf (squirepattonboggs.com)
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MARKETING AGREEMENTS In circumstances that a foreign company would not like to establish a physical presence in Qatar, it may opt for appointing an agent or if relevant use a franchise agreement.
Commercial Agency Only 100% Qatari-owned entities or Qatari nationals (licensed importers who are listed on MOCI’s commercial register) can act as commercial agents/distributors for foreign companies in Qatar. The agreement between the principal and the agent may define territory and duration of contract. As per Qatar law a commercial agency agreement is unlimited in terms unless otherwise stated and grants the agent exclusivity and right for being compensated in case of termination of contract. The Arabic version of commercial agency agreement must be registered with relevant department in the MOCI, which is considered as the main reference document in Qatar. One problem about using an agent is losing some element of control in the market as the agent will be in charge of product and brand in the market. The Commercial Agencies Law, generally, favours the agent regarding the expiration or termination of an agency contract. Therefore, it is essential to carefully vet potential business partners (due diligence and checks about competitor representation) and take provisions for aforementioned matters when entering into such agreements. To combat illegal practices, in 2004, Qatar enacted a law commonly known as Proxy Law which forbids non-Qatari nationals from exercising commercial business activities except in sectors where they are licensed and prohibits Qatari entities to cover-up the business activities of any non-Qatari person. Therefore, it is important to have a registered commercial agency agreement in place for such arrangements. This law makes the use of service agents an inappropriate business practice. 32
Franchise Agreements Doing business via franchise contracts is another option. Most of the countries around the world recognize franchises but seldom make dedicated legal provisions for them as it is the case in Qatar. Therefore, a franchise agreement in Qatar, usually, manifests in an LLC structure where its operations need to comply with laws and regulations that regulate general issues of commercial law and trade, foreign investment, and shareholder rights.
LEGAL SYSTEM & DISPUTES SOLUTION Like most legal systems in the ME, the State of Qatar follows a civil law system. Qatar’s legal framework consists of 3 court types: Civil, Criminal, and Islamic “Sharia” courts. The Civil courts have exclusive control over civil, commercial, banking, insurance, and maritime affairs. The Criminal courts rule over all crimes under its jurisdictions. The “Sharia” Courts have exclusive authority for all family law affairs.33 Parties of a business contract can select a governing law other than Qatar law. However, for matters involving real estate property in Qatar, domiciled assets in Qatar, labor affairs or the structuring of Qatari entities, Qatar law often prevails regardless of what has been selected as governing law of
32 export.gov 33 Al-Tamimi-Company-Doing-Business-in-Qatar-Guide.pdf
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the contract. In business disputes Qatar business practices and laws consider the Arabic version of contracts and largely favor the Qatari nationals. In 2017, Qatar adopted modern principles of international arbitration applicable to any arbitration between public or private persons. This includes “party autonomy, independence of the arbitration agreement from the contract, speedy procedures, use of modern technology in arbitration procedures, exoneration of arbitrators from civil liability, licensing of foreign and domestic arbitration centers and the finality of arbitral awards”. Consequently, foreign investors can make use of arbitration or any amiable method of settlement for their investments related disputes. Qatar’s arbitration permits the parties to agree on the arbitration rules and select the arbitration center even outside Qatar. 34 & 35 Foreign investors are advised to select international binding arbitration for dispute resolution.
EMPLOYMENT Qatar like other GCC countries still follows a kafala (sponsorship) system for all expatriates working in the country (i.e. employees need to be sponsored by employers who are accountable for them during the term of employment). Employment in Qatar is generally regulated by Qatari Labor Law. However, employees of ministries and other public bodies such as QP are subject to a different employment regulation. Furthermore, QFC has its own employment regulations which provide some other benefits to the expatriates employed in the QFC. Recently, the minimum basic wage of laborers in Qatar was increased to QAR 1,000 (~US$ 275) per month. Unless the employer provides accommodation and/or food to the employee, the employer is required to offer allowances for accommodation (QAR 500) and food expenses (QAR 300) bringing the minimum total monthly wage to QAR 1800 (~US$ 495).36 Furthermore, lately, the requirement of expat workforce to obtain no objection certificate (NOC) from employers before changing jobs was eliminated. Although the latter applies to those who fulfill terms of their limited-term employment contracts or complete 5 years of service under unlimited-term contracts, both moves are likely to improve expatriates’ welfare and enhance labor market incentives.
QATARIZATION & LOCALIZATION PROGRAMS Qatarization and Localization programs are components of Qatar’s National Vision 2030. Qatarization scheme was initiated by the industrial and oil and gas sector leaders to increase employment of Qatari nationals in the governmental entities/bodies and localize the supply chain. The vision is to extend this initiative to the private sector; however, it is not yet mandatory. By launching In-Country Value (ICV) program, which is one of the pillars of Qatar’s localization effort, QP has become the most recent GCC National Oil Company (NOC) to implement such policies. The program is overseen by a body known as TAWTEEN. It aims to drive best value from oil and gas reserves by increasing the in-country contribution and supporting the private sector to sustain growth and diversification of the Qatar economy. Consequently, going forward, QP’s tender process and evaluation is based on technical, commercial and ICV score. According to the program, ICV
34 Lexis Middle East Law Alert - Qatar Supplement 2020 by LexisNexis - issuu 35 22602doingbusinessinqatarbrochure.pdf (squirepattonboggs.com) 36 Invest Qatar – Investment Guide (filesusr.com)
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scores of participants in these tenders will influence bid ranking and as a result the selection of winner. More details about QP’s ICV can be found in appendix 5.
TAX REGIME In Qatar, Tax is imposed on taxable local earned income. The country has two tax regimes:
• The State of Qatar tax regime regulated by General Tax Authority (GTA) • QFC tax regime regulated by Qatar Financial Center Authority (QFCA) There is no individual income tax for income arising from employment in Qatar. Furthermore, Qatar has made some announcements about the implementation of 5% Value Added Tax (VAT) without confirmation of its implementation date. Qatar has signed double taxation treaties with more than 70 countries including Norway. In December 2019, Qatar became a signatory of the OECD multilateral instrument tax treaty.37
CORPORATE INCOME TAX All businesses, except companies wholly owned by Qatari or GCC nationals, are subject to Corporate Income Tax in Qatar on their taxable profits. This at flat 10% rate under QFC tax regime. Under the GTA regime, LLCs or registered foreign branch offices are generally subject to 10% corporate tax. However, if engaged in Petroleum Operations and Petrochemical Industry or contracts in which State is a party, the rate is at least 35%. If the entity has Qatari shareholder(s), their portion of share is exempted from corporate income tax. Companies within the QSTP are exempted from corporate income tax and QFZ companies are granted 20 years tax holidays. 38 & 39
WITHHOLDING TAX Any payment made to the non-resident companies for activities performed wholly or partially in Qatar is subject to withholding tax at 5%. This include the interest, royalty, commission, and other payments done for contracts that were signed after 13 December 2018; this rate was 7% previously. Withholding tax can be a critical consideration for companies that supply goods and services to Qatar and a factor whether they would opt for local incorporation. Furthermore, a retention tax equal to 3% of the contract value or the final payment (whichever is higher) applies to payments made by the Qatar government or a quasi-governmental agency to a branch registered in Qatar. This amount is released upon conclusion of the contract and issuance of an NOC by the GTA.40
SOCIAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTIONS On behalf of Qatari national employees, the employer must pay 10% of the employee’s basic salary monthly for social security contributions. Moreover, Qatari employees who have pension schemes must pay 5% of their basic salary monthly.
37 Qatar highlights 2020 (deloitte.com) 38 Qatar highlights 2020 (deloitte.com) 39 22602doingbusinessinqatarbrochure.pdf (squirepattonboggs.com) 40 Qatar highlights 2020 (deloitte.com)
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CUSTOM DUTIES Qatar is part of the GCC customs union, as a result, products from other GCC states are exempted from customs duty provided a certificate of origin issued by the Chamber of Commerce in the GCC country of origin is produced. Custom duties are applied to goods with an origin outside the GCC countries, in most cases at a rate of 5%. However, tariff for certain goods such as tobacco, alcohol, energy drink is 100% (50% for carbonated drinks), also known as Excise tax. Additionally, goods that compete with locally manufactured products are liable to a higher duty; steel (20%), cement (20%) and urea/ammonia (30%). 41
INVESTMENT INCENTIVES According to new Foreign Investment law, other than benefits of a free-market economy and freedom of repatriation of profit/investment, Qatar may offer following incentives: 42 & 43
• allocation of suitable land through low rent or usufruct • income tax holidays for certain years (10 years is common) • rights to import goods both for their project operations and expansion • exemption from custom duties for equipment, raw materials, and semi-manufactured goods necessary to perform the pertinent activity, if not available in the local market • low electricity, water, and gas rates • Flexible regulations and procedures to import skilled workforce
RELEVANT SECTORS
Similar to the UAE, Qatar aims to transform itself into a knowledge-based economy by 2030. As mentioned earlier, Qatar’s economy is heavily driven by government and quasi-governmental entities (see appendix 6 for most relevant entities). Therefore, government’s spending shapes country’s sectors and their pertinent markets. In the mid-term, the State has plans to increase its spending in the Gas sector to reach the set target of 64% increase in LNG production by 2027/28. Moreover, with just less than two years to the FIFA World Cup 2022, Qatar must maintain spending on associated infrastructure projects to ensure country has the capacity of hosting the event. The Government of Qatar budgeted QAR 194.7 billion (~US$53.5 billion) for total expenditure in 2021, 7.5% lower than spending in 2020 as many projects related to the World Cup are finalized or nearing completion. Out of total spending, QAR 72.1 billion (~US$ 19.8 billion) is allocated to capital expenditures for major projects. Main spending sectors forecasted to be Municipality and Environment (13%), Education (9%), (8.5%), Culture and Sports (6.7%), Transportation and Communication (6%).44
41 Qatar market guide - great.gov.uk 42 Doing business in Qatar: overview | Practical Law (thomsonreuters.com) 43 Lexis Middle East Law Alert - Qatar Supplement 2020 by LexisNexis - issuu 44 Qatar unveils QR194.7 bn budget for 2021 fiscal (qatar-tribune.com)
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According to MEED, Qatar represented 4th largest projects market in the MENA region in 2019. Qatar’s market offered an annual average of US$16.6 billion contract awards between 2015 and 2019, where Construction and Transport were the most active sectors. Although some projects were pushed back, country’s project market has shown more resilience compared to neighbouring countries since the beginning of Covid-19 pandemic. It is expected that Qatar’s economy experiences a V-shaped recovery from Covid-19 disruption with stronger service sector supported by the World Cup. Currently, Qatar’s largest projects are within Construction and Transport sectors followed by Gas thanks to its LNG capacity expansion plans (figure 5). When it comes to the pipeline projects, Gas is going to be the leading sector in coming years (figure 6). MEED predicts Qatar’s projects market to be one of the most attractive in the MENA region in the coming years. Refer to appendix 6 and 7 for the list of largest projects under construction and planned but unawarded.
FIGURE 5 Projects market by sector (US$ million) - 2020
Source: MEED Projects, 2020
FIGURE 6 Projects in the pipeline (planned but unawarded) (US$ million)
Source: MEED Projects, 2020
Considering all factors, the most promising opportunities for foreign companies in Qatar remain within Energy, Infrastructure, ICT, Food value chain, Healthcare, and Defence in the short to mid- term. IN assesses Oil & Gas value chain, Maritime, Aquaculture, Agri-tech, and Smart cities solutions
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(Digital technologies) to be the most relevant areas for Norwegian companies’ engagement. Nevertheless, upcoming domains of Blue/Green Hydrogen, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), Circular Economy, and Fin-tech are fast arriving, which comparably can be of interest. Below we briefly consider status and prospects of some of these opportunity areas.
PETROLEUM INDUSTRY In 2019, Qatar’s total oil and gas output was about 4.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), over 65% of which was gas.45 The country holds ~12.5 % of world total proven gas reserves, placing Qatar in 3rd rank after Russia and Iran.46 Qatar dominated the world LNG market for more than a decade, however, in recent years the country is facing emergence of new entrants notably Australia and the USA. After being challenged by Australia in 2019, Qatar managed to regain its position as world’s largest LNG exporter in 2020 with its total capacity standing at 77.8 million metric tons per annum (mmtpa). South Korea, China, India, Japan, and the UK were top 5 customers of Qatar’s LNG (see appendix 9). QP has announced plans to increase country’s LNG production capacity to 126 mmtpa by 2027/28, representing an increase of more than 60%, at a time when LNG expansion projects in Australia are being deferred due to demand destruction caused by Covid-19.47 In January 2020, QP signed an agreement with state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) for the purchase of 3 mmpta of LNG for 15 years. The volume will roughly satisfy Kuwait’s demand which were previously purchased from Qatar and spot markets. Based on the agreement, Qatar will start LNG deliveries in 2022, when Kuwait’s LNG regasification terminal at Al-Zour Port is fully operational. The new terminal will replace the floating terminal as Kuwait’s plans for developing its own non-associated gas field did not realize.48 Qatar joined OPEC in 1961 and after 57 years withdrew its membership in 2019. Some suggested that this withdrawal was more a political signal in response to regional boycott. However, having the lowest oil production in the ME, this exit had minimal impact on the cartel’s activities. Therefore, it is believed that Qatar made the move to reprioritize its activities on gas production rather, without being obligated to any potential reductions.
OIL & GAS FIELDS Qatar is the 4th largest Gas producer in the world after the United States, Russia, and Iran. Country’s major hydrocarbon assets are in the offshore North Field (also referred as North Dome), which is the largest non-associated gas field in the world. The field was discovered by Shell in 1971 and is shared with Iran, where it is called South Pars. Estimates of total recoverable reserves of North Field (Qatar) were revised in 2019 to 1,760 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas, in addition to 70 billion barrels of condensates and significant quantities of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), helium, sulfur and ethane. Development of the field started in 1990s. With around US$100 billion investment, during the past 25 years, North Field gas production reached to 18 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d). Until today, 13 projects have been developed on the North Field that were awarded between 1991 and 2005. Out of these projects 7 are dedicated for LNG export (Qatargas 1 to 4, RasGas 1 & 2, and Ras Laffan 3), 2
45 Wood Mackenzie – Country Report 2020 46 KateGasPaperONLINE.pdf (agsiw.org) 47 Qatar Uses Market Mayhem To Secure Top Spot In Global LNG Market | OilPrice.com 48 KateGasPaperONLINE.pdf (agsiw.org)
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allocated for gas-to-liquids (GTL) projects (Pearl and Oryx GTL), 1 supplies Dolphin pipeline (gas export to the UAE and Oman), and 3 serve the domestic demand (North Field Alpha, Al Khaleej Gas, and Barzan). Notwithstanding with regional tensions which was exacerbated with boycott of Qatar, supply of gas through Dolphin pipeline (2 bcf/d) was not affected. In 2005, QP implemented a moratorium on further expansion of the North Field to assess the impact of reservoir rapid development, which raised concerns about sustainability of production and causing potential changes to the basin’s structure. After several years of postponement, the suspension was lifted in April 2017 with announcement of North Field Expansion (NFE) projects. 49 Qatar’s first oil field – Dukhan - was discovered onshore in 1939 by Anglo-Persian Oil Company (now BP) and came to production by 1949. Today, country's main oil fields are Al Shaheen, Dukhan, Idd El Shargi North Dome, Bul Hanine and Maydan Mahzam; the first 3 produce more than 80% of Qatar’s total crude oil output. These fields are mature, and their production are declining gradually. Qatar’s total oil output peaked in 2008 at around 850,000 barrel per day (b/d). In 2019, oil production was about 603,000 b/d and is expected to decline below 600,000 b/d by end of decade. Optimizing production from the 3 largest oil fields, QP is aiming to reverse this decline. Qatar's other liquids production has grown steeply due to North Field gas developments. The country produces about 920,000 b/d of LPGs and condensate mostly from North Field as Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs). 50
FIGURE 7 Oil & Gas fields and infrastructure of Qatar 51
Source: S&P Global Platts Analytics, EIA, IHS EDIN, CIA, NQAA
49 Wood Mackenzie – Country Report 2020 50 Wood Mackenzie – Country Report 2020 51 S&P Global Platts
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Besides the Dukhan oil field and the North Field South gas field, all hydrocarbon reserves of Qatar are located offshore. Exploration activities in 1990s resulted in offshore discoveries of the Al Shaheen and Al Rayyan oil fields within the North Field and Al Khalij oil field. However, recent exploration activities did not reach to major oil and gas discoveries. With current known reserves and production rates, Wood Mackenzie estimated Qatar to have 23.4 years remaining of liquid reserves production and 49.5 years of gas.
INFRASTRUCTURE Most of Qatar's petroleum infrastructure is clustered around two coastal terminals at Ras Laffan and Umm Said (Mesaieed). Ras Laffan is the world's largest LNG export terminal, where all 14 LNG trains and 2 GTL plants of Qatar are located (refer to appendix 10). Furthermore, two dedicated condensate refineries, Laffan Refinery 1 & 2 each with capacity of 160,600 b/d and 146,000 b/d respectively are situated here. Laffan Refinery 1 output includes Naphtha, Gasoil, LPG and Kerojet, while Laffan Refinery 2 produces low sulphur Naphtha, Kerojet, ultra-low sulphur Diesel, Propane, and Butane.52 Mesaieed is the main onshore export terminal for crude oil. There is a refinery operated by QP with capacity of 137,000 b/d at Mesaieed Industrial City, along with 4 NGL fractionation plants. The NGL 1 & 2 plants process natural gas liquids from the Dukhan field and the offshore oil fields. The NGL 3 & 4 plants are supplied from the North Field. The NGL complex produces around 120,000 b/d of LPG and condensate, in addition to ethane, sulphur and lean gas.53 Qatar's offshore oil production from Al Khalij, Bul Hanine, Maydan Mahzam and Idd El Shargi fields gets transported by pipelines to Halul Island and exported via two offshore single point moorings (SPMs). At the Al Shaheen field, an offshore SPM system is employed to export crude oil.
MAIN COMPANIES QP is the regulatory body that implements Qatari government's energy policies. Minister of Energy Affairs, currently Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, holds the position of President and CEO of QP as well. QP has exclusive responsibility for awarding contracts in the upstream. It also oversees the fertilizer, petrochemicals, and refining operations in the country. In the oil sector, QP owns the onshore Dukhan oil field, as well as the offshore North Field Alpha, Bul Hanine and Maydan Mahzam, Idd El Shargi North & South Domes, and Al Rayyan. 54 The remaining offshore fields are operated by the International Oil Companies (IOCs). In 1984, a joint venture - named Qatar Liquefied Gas Company (Qatargas) - was established between QP (70%) and BP, Total, Mitsui and Marubeni (holding remaining 30%). ExxonMobil acquired BP's interest in 1991 and entered another LNG joint venture with QP - RasGas - in 1993. In January 2018, QP merged both of its subsidiaries (Qatargas and RasGas) into one entity now known as Qatargas. Today, Qatargas operates 14 LNG trains and has turned into the world’s largest fully integrated LNG company with a value chain from the well-head to customers. QP holds majority interests between 60-70% in the Qatargas joint ventures.
52 QG Venture Portfolio_FA_ready_ (qatargas.com) 53 Wood Mackenzie – Country Report 2020 54 Oil And Gas Fields (qp.com.qa)
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Qatar has gained from foreign investment on the back of its large, condense rich, and low-cost gas resources. Through development of its gas industries (LNG/GTL), Qatar leads IOC investment by value in the ME, where most of major oil and gas companies and several Asian NOCs are present. Qatar's upstream sector is dominated few IOCs that account for 97% of the country's oil and gas output leaving limited scope for new entrants. Amongst the IOCs in Qatar, ExxonMobil has the most extensive portfolio of upstream interests followed by Shell, Total, ConocoPhillips (see appendix 11 and 12). Shell's investment at the Pearl GTL plant in Ras Laffan is the single largest foreign investment in the country.55 The UAE's Mubadala has a majority interest in the Dolphin gas project. The Al Shaheen field is country's largest oil development, which delivers 45% of Qatar's crude oil. The field was re-awarded as a 25-year concession in 2017 to North Oil Company (NOC), a joint venture between QP (70%) and Total (30%). QP and ExxonMobil engagement is not anymore limited to Qatar’s fields as they have entered a joint venture (ExxonMobil 40%) in a gas block offshore Cyprus. Furthermore, in Golden Pass LNG terminal, which is QP’s largest investment overseas, ExxonMobil holds a minority share. This project will help QP to retain its dominance in the LNG market.56 Within the petrochemical sector, Q-Chem – a joint venture between Chevron Phillips (49%), Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding company (49%) and QP (2%) – that began operation in 2004, is located in Mesaieed Industrial City. The Q-Chem facility is an integrated petrochemical plant capable of producing high-density and medium-density polyethylene, 1-hexene and other products. Most major international and regional contractors are present in Qatar. To name a few with biggest portfolio: TechnipFMC, Chiyoda, Saipem, Sapura Energy Berhad, McDermott, Consolidated Contractors, PetroVietnam Technical Services, Sembcorp, Petrofac, JGC, Hyundai Engineering and Construction, CTCI, Samsung C&T, Tecnimont, and Korea Gas. Figure 8 shows the contractors in Qatar’s Oil & Gas by value of contracts in execution as of August 2020.
FIGURE 8 Contractors in Qatar’s Oil and Gas by value of contracts in execution (Us$) – updated as of August 2020 *
Source: MEED Projects, 2020
* With recent announcement of Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) projects awards (related to North Field projects) to Saipem and Technip Energies + Chiyoda consortium in February 2021, this overview looks different.
55 Qatar market guide - great.gov.uk 56 KateGasPaperONLINE.pdf (agsiw.org)
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OUTLOOK North Field Expansion (NFE) Following lifting of the moratorium, QP announced plans to increase its LNG production capacity from 77 mmtpa to 126 mmtpa by 2027/28 with two new LNG developments; North Field East and North Field South. The NFE is likely to cost more than US$ 50 billion in greenfield investments in addition to other upstream developments as per Rystad Energy estimates. The first, North Field East, comprises of 4 mega trains (8 mmpta each) and is expected to start production in 2025. The North Field South which comprises of 2 additional mega trains (8 mmpta each) is expected to start production in 2027/28. Equinor is working to position itself in the 2nd phase. These packages include drilling of 80 wells offshore and onshore, 8 wellhead platforms offshore, condense separation facilities, liquefaction facilities, carbon capture and sequestration facilities, and storage tanks. Qatar aims to remain the most competitive LNG producer in the market. Its current breakeven LNG price is slightly above US$ 2/MMBTU and the NFE developments are expected to come live at less than US$ 3/MMBTU. Qatar will have the capability to raise the bar for new higher cost competitors (most of which have more than US$ 5/MMBTU LNG breakeven price) and be more resilient at low LNG market prices. 57 Out of above packages, in February 2021, there were two major announcements for EPC/EPCC projects of NFE. First, QP awarded a joint venture between Chiyoda and TechnipFMC the EPCC contract for the onshore facilities of NFE project that includes delivery of the 4 mega trains.58 Second, Qatargas awarded Saipem an EPC project worth of US$ 1.7 billion for the offshore development of the North Field East (North Field Production Sustainability Project) that includes platforms, supporting structures, subsea cables, and pipelines.59
Oil & Liquid Production Qatar's future liquids production is highly dependent on new developments at the NFE and on the implementation of advanced recovery techniques such as water injection and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods in its aging oil fields. NFE developments will increase Qatar’s condensate and LPG production as a consequence of higher natural gas production. However, the story is different for the oil where production is dropping at all of Qatar's major oil fields. The situation will become even worse when Al Shaheen enters decline. Therefore, strategies for reversing this decline are strategic to QP and other operators. There have been efforts on optimising production and implementing EOR methods and it is expected that these activities increase as the fields age, which may offer opportunities for Norwegian companies. Furthermore, in 2019, QP announced plans to build the largest ethane cracker in the ME with annual capacity of 1.9 million tons of ethylene. The project was awarded to a joint venture between Chevron Philips (30%) and QP (70%). The Ethane feedstock to the plant is going to be sourced from the new LNG development as well as from existing developments.60 Refer to appendix 13-15 for the lists of largest projects under construction and planned but unawarded within Qatar’s oil and gas sector.
57 Wood Mackenzie – LNG tool 58 Technip Energies and Chiyoda Awarded a Major LNG Contract for the North Field East Project in Qatar 59 Saipem awarded a contract for the offshore development of the North Field Production Sustainability Project 60 Qatar Petroleum and Chevron Phillips Chemical plan new world-scale ethane cracker in Qatar | Wood Mackenzie
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OPPORTUNITIES Above mentioned developments provide business opportunities in different areas including drilling, offshore rig maintenance and servicing, supply of cryogenic technologies, pumps and valves, and health and safety equipment. Norwegian experience in implementation of EOR and IOR techniques are highly relevant for Qatar’s aging oil fields. Furthermore, QP has recently cited an ambition for achieving “Zero Routine Flaring” by 2030 in its offshore operations and absolute minimum technically feasible flaring (including non-routine flaring) in its onshore operations,61 which creates opportunities for CCS. Although most of the value creation within these projects will be through the EPC contractors, the influence of QP and Qatargas should not be neglected. Therefore, Norwegian suppliers need to map the stakeholders and try to influence the decisions makers at different levels. It should be noted that Qatar is a difficult market to introduce new technologies without proven track record elsewhere. However, IOCs could be more willing to implement newer technologies.
MARITIME The Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC) is central in Qatar’s maritime affairs. Qatar has two major shipping and maritime companies: Nakilat and Milaha. Qatar Gas Transport Company also known as “Nakilat” was established in 2004 to provide LNG shipping services to the State of Qatar. The company operates out of Ras Laffan Industrial City. Today, Nakilat is the largest owner of LNG carriers in the world with fleet of 74 vessels in service (29 wholly owned and 45 jointly owned) that represents 12% of world’s LNG shipping capacity. Breakdown of Nakilat vessels is as following:
• LNG fleet: 24 conventional LNG Carriers, 31 Q-Flex and 14 Q-Max • LPG fleet: 4 Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGC) • 1 Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) Qatar National Navigation Company also known as “Milaha” was established in 1957. The company has become one of the largest and most diversified maritime and logistics companies in the ME. Milaha owns and operates a large fleet of vessels ranging from tankers and gas carriers to container feeder vessels and offshore support vessels. To deliver LNG out of Ras Laffan to its customers, currently, Qatargas has long-term charter agreements for 70 ships. Ship owners and operators of this fleet includes Nakilat, Milaha, Commerz Real (Germany), K Line (Japan), NYK (Japan), MOL (Japan), Marangas (Greece), Pronav (Germany), STASCO (UK) and Teekay (Canada).62
SHIPYARDS Qatar has created a cluster of shipyard facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City, called the Erhama Bin Jaber Al Jalahma Shipyard. It was mainly created to address the repair and maintenance need of Qatar’s large LNG ship fleet and its offshore assets in addition to construction of offshore platforms. The complex comprises of NKOM, NDSQ and QFAB facilities (see figure 9 and appendix 16).
61 QP commits to meet 'zero routine flaring' by 2030 for offshore facilities (gulf-times.com) 62 Qatargas - Media
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NKOM is a joint venture between Nakilat and Singaporean Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd. It was established in 2008 and inaugurated in 2010 to serves mainly towards ship repair, ship conversion, and construction of offshore drilling rigs activities. NDSQ is a joint venture between Nakilat and Dutch Damen Shipyards Qatar that was established in 2010. This yard mainly takes care of construction and outfitting of high value small ships (less than 120 m length overall (LOA)) and refitting of superyachts. NDSQ constructs all workboats required for a variety of tasks carried out at ports and harbors, specialized in towage and movements as well as harbor services. The yard also builds tugboats, pilot boats, work barges, dredgers and high-speed crafts using proven shipbuilding designs.63 Qatar Fabrication Company (QFAB) was founded in 2019 through a joint venture between Nakilat (60%) and McDermott International (40%). QFAB offers a comprehensive range of services such as the fabrication, construction, and assembly of offshore and onshore structures.
FIGURE 9 Erhama Bin Jaber Al Jalahma Shipyard in Ras Laffan Industrial City 64
Taken from NKOM Brochure
Milaha also has a Shipyard located in Mesaieed Industrial City that has been providing services to Qatar and the region’s marine and industrial sectors since 1978. Strategically located close to Hamad Port, the Shipyard operates two floating docks, one Ship lift, and large workshops facilities with the
63 Nakilat - Keppel Offshore & Marine - Corporate History (nkom.com.qa) 64 N-KOM_BROCHURE.pdf (nakilat.com)
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ability to carry out Dry dock and afloat repair works for vessels up to 230 m LOA. The Shipyard offers repair and refit services to Naval vessels and yachts, with a unique specialized newly built facility. The shipyard also offers steel fabrication, pressure vessels and piping work for onshore sector. 65
PORTS There are 6 operational ports in Qatar: 66
• Hamad Port: latest addition to the portfolio, main commercial seaport of Qatar and trans- shipment hub • Doha Port: used to be the main commercial gateway of Qatar, it is planned to be transformed into a dedicated cruise ship terminal before start of FIFA World Cup2022 • Al Ruwais Port: the 2nd commercial port located in the northern tip of the country • Port of Ras Laffan: world’s largest LNG export terminal • Al Halul Island: offshore oil export port • Port of Mesaieed: main onshore port for export of oil and condensates The last 3 ports in above list mainly handle petroleum related products and are operated under supervision of QP. The others are part of portfolio of Mwani Qatar which is the entity responsible for managing seaports and shipping terminals of Qatar.
FIGURE 10 Operational Ports in Qatar
With total investment of US$ 7.4 billion, construction of Hamad Port started in 2010. The project was the largest greenfield port development in the region. The port is stretched over 28.5 km2 and has development plans to reach an annual capacity of 7.5 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU). Hamad Port also provides a new base for the Qatar Emiri Naval Forces and encompasses the Qatar Economic Zone 3. In addition to container cargo and general cargo, the port handles diverse imports
65 Business Areas | Marine & Technical Services | Milaha 66 Qatar strengthens port facilities, capacity and transport links | Qatar 2016 | Oxford Business Group
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including livestock, bulk grain, and vehicle traffic, as well as oil and gas export shipments.67 To operate the terminals of Hamad Port phase 1 development, QTerminals was born, through a joint venture between Mwani Qatar (51%) and Milaha (49%).68 Hamad port was proven to be a critical element to survival of Qatar at the time of regional blockade. The development of Hamad Port Container Terminal 2 consists of 4 phases. Full operation of phases 1 & 2 is expected to start before the end of 2022, taking the port’s capacity to 3 million TEU per year. Depending on market needs, phases 3 & 4 will be developed at later stage to raise the port’s operational capacity accordingly.69 In its expansion phase, port will serve the new industries that will be developed as part of Qatar National Vision 2030, which includes the construction of region’s largest ethane cracker facilities.70 Mwani Qatar has recently been upgrading the Al Ruwais Port which became of more significance as a gateway for food and other supplies from nearby countries during the economic blockade. The Al Ruwais Port can welcome small and medium-sized ships and can handle general cargo as well as fresh and frozen food stuffs arriving in reefer containers.71
OPPORTUNITIES With further development of Hamad port and transformation of Doha Port to cruise terminal, there are opportunities for engagement of Norwegian maritime businesses. These include areas such as cyber security and enhancement of port and custom operations through digitalization that may be proven of necessity in the run up to FIFA World Cup 2022. See appendix 17 for some of ongoing and planned projects.
New LNG Ship orders To renew old fleet and create the capacity for the NFE and its US LNG investments in the Golden Pass Terminal, QP has embarked on large LNG shipbuilding orders. QP has entrusted Qatargas to execute the newbuilding program on its behalf, where agreements have been reached, in Q2 2020, with South Korea’s “Big Three” shipyards to build more than 100 LNG carriers valued at around US$ 19 billion. Under the agreements, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) will reserve a major portion of their LNG ship construction capacity for QP through 2027.72 According to BRL, the total orderbook considering options is nearly 180 units, but over 80% are in the category of Large LNG carriers. The agreement follows QP’s deal for 16 LNG newbuilds with China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in April 2020, which is worth about US$3 billion. These two deals represent for nearly 60% of world’s LNG shipbuilding capacity through 2027.73 According to QP’s CEO the new LNG
67 Hamad Port expansion in Qatar enters second phase | Qatar 2019 | Oxford Business Group 68 About Us | Qterminals 69 Port Strategy | Operating plans unveiled at Hamad Port’s CT2 70 Qatar's port expansions open up trade routes and welcome cruiseliners | Qatar 2020 | Oxford Business Group 71 Qatar's port expansions open up trade routes and welcome cruiseliners | Qatar 2020 | Oxford Business Group 72 Riviera - News Content Hub - Qatar newbuilding contract changes fleet profile - again (rivieramm.com) 73 LNG News: Qatar Order $20 Billion of Tankers From Korea - Bloomberg
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vessels will be outfitted with the latest slow-speed, dual-fuel engines, utilizing LNG as a fuel to be efficient and simultaneously be in compliance with the latest emissions and environmental regulations for years to come. Given availability of quite a few vessels under construction which are without contracts, the final number of newbuild order is uncertain, since QP and the nominated owners could potentially take over the already built ships, if priced reasonable. Furthermore, with options that usually are incorporated in the shipbuilding contracts, QP may have the alternative to withdraw from some of orders if the market conditions change. Nevertheless, it is expected that contracts of first few vessels to be finalized within 2021 and start delivering within 2023 through 2027/28. The new LNG vessel orders present opportunities for Norwegian suppliers of ship equipment and systems. Although most of the technical aspects of conventional parts of a ship seems to be covered by close collaboration of yards and nominated ship owners, it should not be neglected that the specifications of the ships are set by QP/Qatargas itself. Furthermore, the influence of ship operators should not be disregarded. Therefore, to increase the chances of inclusion of Norwegian solutions, these opportunities need to be followed up in all directions by influencing decision makers in Qatar, building yards, ship owners and operators.
FOOD SECURITY AND FOOD PRODUCTION Qatar leads the region on the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) and ranks the 1st in the world in the affordability of food. However, the country is heavily dependent on imports to satisfy its population’s need. The blockade of Qatar considerably complicated its food trade routes. Prior to the blockade, Qatar received around 40% of its food requirement via shipments from Saudi Arabia. Therefore, food security has increasingly become a top priority for the country prior to 2017. 74 The country has been investing in large areas of farmland overseas to ensure access to food supplies. The agricultural arm of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, Hassad Food, has bought land in Sudan and Australia, and has announced plans to spend millions of dollars on agricultural projects in countries including Kenya, Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, and Ukraine.
AGRICULTURE Qatar is still seeking to diminish its heavy dependence on food imports and stimulate local food production. However, the limited arable land and water supplies makes development of the agricultural industry increasingly difficult. According to a World Resource Institute study, Qatar is ranked as the most water-stressed country in the world. The State has invested heavily in agricultural production. Despite the challenges, over the last few years agriculture activities inside the country has increased, mainly by adopting smart agriculture techniques such as hydroponics, smart irrigation, and aquaponics that enhanced the utilization of arable land and quality of fruits and vegetables.75 Qatar managed to become self-sufficient in fresh poultry and dairy products, while achieving a 400% increase in overall domestic food production.
74 export.gov 75 Qatar Agriculture Market | Growth | Trends | Forecast (2020 - 2025) (mordorintelligence.com)
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The government has recently updated its National Food Security Strategy 2018-2023. The strategy has 4 main pillars and 13 initiatives. Vegetable production through hydroponic greenhouse developments has been suggested as a priority area where a target of 70% self-sufficiency by 2023 is set for production of different vegetables. Refer to appendix 18 for more details.
AQUACULTURE According to Qatar’s new National Food Security Strategy, fish farming is one of the key priorities to ensure domestic self-sufficiency in times of crisis. The average per capita consumption for Qatar is estimated at 22.3 kg in 2017. This is higher than the yearly average global consumption which stood at 20.3 kg in the same year. Qatar currently imports most of its seafood (roughly 80%). Qatar also stopped issuing new fishing license in 2012 and imposed in 2017 a ceiling on fish catch from the sea at 14,000 tons a year.76 & 77 This makes aquaculture a vital alternative in Qatar to improve its food security. However, the sector is still in its infancy with only one commercial project being executed.
FIGURES 11 Seafood: Uses & Sources in Qatar
Samakna The private company Al Qamra Holding Group (AQH) received licence in October 2017 to build floating cages facility in the northern waters of Qatar. Following this AQH launched Samakna project, the region’s first offshore Aquaculture project in Qatar’s open water, which uses floating- cage technology. The fish farm is located 50 km off the Qatari coast, northeast of Ruwais, with a total marine site area of 900 thousand square meters, including 16 floating cages. As of Q4 2020, the farm managed to have eight cages fully operational with a total annual capacity of 2,000 tonnes of Asian Seabass. The total annual targeted capacity is 4,000 tones. Samakna has also built a factory spanning over an area of 10,000 m2 in Ruwais, close to the fish farm, which handles the final production stages, including packaging and wrapping. The factory also includes refrigerated rooms to receive fish at a temperature between 0 and 4 °C.
76 Ministry: No new fishing licenses for the next 10 years - Doha News Qatar 77 thepeninsulaqatar.com
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OPPORTUNITIES There are opportunities for Agri-tech providers and investors looking to develop advanced technologies in agriculture and horticulture. These include topics like energy, water and fertilizer efficiency, greenhouse, and vertical farming. Other areas of opportunity in Qatar’s agriculture sector include food processing and improvement techniques for poultry and dairy production. In Aquaculture, cage-based and land-based systems and their pertinent technologies are the main opportunity areas. Furthermore, seafood processing, feed production and feed efficiency are considered to be relevant.
SMART CITIES Qatar has a young society with one of the highest Internet penetration rates in the world (exceeding 95%), high adoption rate of social media, and great interests in online shopping.78 In 2017, the MOTC launched an initiative – TASMU Smart Qatar – to support the realization of a digital economy and a smarter way of living. Tasmu Smart Qatar aims to transform the State into a world-class smart city that has the latest digital solutions to increase the standard of living and increase Qatar's competitiveness internationally. The program, which allocates more than US$ 1.5 billion for ICT solutions, has hundreds of active initiatives across various top priority sectors namely transportation, logistics, healthcare, environment, and sports.79 In an effort to show its commitment to host an eco-friendly FIFA World Cup 2022, Qatar has set ambitions to electrify 25% of its public transport bus fleet. Furthermore, MOTC has planned to gradually electrify entire public, government, and school buses to reduce harmful carbon emissions from buses by 2030. In this line, in November 2020, Yutong (one of China’s largest bus and coach manufacturers) and Mowasalat (the major transport services provider in Qatar) singed a framework agreement to manufacture electric-buses (e-buses) in the QFZ. The deal, which is expected to be operational by end of 2022, will see technology and knowledge transfer, so parts for the e-buses will be manufactured by Qatari firms to satisfy the government’s wider localization campaign.80 Around 1,500 e-buses are expected to be produced in Qatar between 2023-2030 which is targeted for export markets in the Middle East, Europe, South America, and Africa.81 Recently, Yutong confirmed to have received a record order for as many as 1,002 buses from Qatar, 741 of which will be electric.82 These e-buses are targeted for the FIFA World Cup 2022. Furthermore, Qatar plans to make 3-5% of its total car parc green or electric by 2022, which is aimed to reach to 20% by 2030. The move is initiated by the General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) as part of its ongoing efforts under the National Program for Conservation and Energy Efficiency (Tarsheed) which is in collaboration with MOCI and MOTC. Tarsheed’s objective is to reduce the CO2 emissions rate in Qatar by 7% by 2022. MOTC is also working with Mowasalat (Karwa) on a comprehensive plan to electrify all Karwa taxis over the coming years.83 To support the
78 export.gov 79 TASMU SMART QATAR | Tasmu Digital Valley (motc.gov.qa) 80 Framework agreement signed to manufacture E-Buses in Qatar Free Zones - Qatar Free Zones Authority (qfz.gov.qa) 81 Gulftimes : 1,500 electric buses to be manufactured at Free Zone (gulf-times.com) 82 Yutong got the largest EV bus order ever: 741 units for FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar (sustainable-bus.com) 83 A quarter of Qatar's bus fleet set to be electrified by 2022 (intelligenttransport.com)
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uptake of Electric Vehicles (EVs), according to Tarsheed, at least 400 car charging stations will be implemented across Qatar by 2022. The MOCI will work on installing and managing infrastructure to provide EVs a range of charging stations with different capacity levels (fast, medium, low).84 Furthermore, Kahramaa has started the implementation of the Advance Metering infrastructure project to be integrated with electricity and water meters. The project is expected to cost $8.2 million. Kahramaa has smart grid roadmap in collaboration with Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station. The company aims to transform Qatar’s grid into a smart one by 2026 and convert all Kahramaa meters to smart technologies by 2022 which includes fiber optics.85 Considering the initiatives, it seems that creating the charging infrastructure, management of its electricity and smart grid systems could potentially be an opportunity for Norwegian business active in the pertinent fields. Moreover, the requirement to have more intelligent, secure, and connected solutions to enable Qatar to host a successful FIFA World Cup will create opportunities within the cyber security and smart city solutions.
OTHER AREAS HYDROGEN As the hydrogen industry is evolving and we see more hydrogen projects popping up around the world, considering its abundance Gas resources and the NFE projects, Qatar has potential to pursue Blue Hydrogen or Blue Ammonia route. This translates into creating more CCS capacity. Today Qatar consumes more hydrogen (6 mmtpa) than any other states within the GCC (2.5 times Saudi Arabia) because of its GTL and Ammonia/Fertilizer industry. This hydrogen is grey. With QP’s environmental goals and drive by Qatar’s LNG, GTL, Ammonia, and Fertilizer customers to get more sustainable and environment friendly products, Qatar may need to adopt the blue hydrogen strategy sooner or later. Qatar is not expected to be early adopter of Green Hydrogen and most probably will wait until the technology becomes economically feasible.
WASTE MANAGEMENT Waste management is one of the most serious environmental challenges in Qatar. Although household waste per capita is lower than GCC average (1.6 kg/day vs 2.1 – 4.1 kg), Qatar has one of the highest per capita total waste generation rates worldwide. Most of these wastes end up in landfills. A comprehensive solid waste management plan is being implemented in Qatar which will coordinate responsibilities, activities and planning for managing wastes from households, industry and commercial establishments, and construction industry. The target is to recycle 38% of solid waste and reduce domestic per capita waste generation. One of the most promising developments in this sector has been the creation of Domestic Solid Waste Management Centre (DSWMC) at Mesaieed. Qatar is home to the largest waste-to-energy facility in the GCC region, the 30 MW Mesaieed plant, which also generates 8 MW of biogas-based power. Qatar’s wastewater sector has experienced unprecedented investment in recent years, as the authorities have attempted to meet record levels of inflows.
84 Green Car Initiative - Marhaba Qatar 85 Qatar Solar Energy (trade.gov)
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RENEWABLE ENERGY (SOLAR) Unsurprisingly, given its substantial gas reserves and production capacity, Qatar’s power sector is severely dependent on gas feedstock. In 2019, more than 99% of its installed capacity came from gas-based power plants. According to Qatar’s National Vision 2030, the government is committed to produce 20% of country’s energy demand from renewable sources (mainly solar power) by 2030.86 In this line, Qatar launched its first large-scale solar power plant, Al Kharsaah. The 800MW photovoltaic (PV) plant represent an investment of around US$ 500 million. The first 350MW of this project is expected to be connected to the grid in 2021 and remaining 450MW in 2022. The project will be developed and operated by Siraj 1 SPV which is jointly owned by the Consortium of Total Solar International and Marubeni (40%), alongside Siraj Energy (60%), a Joint Venture between QP (40%) and Qatar Electricity & Water Company (QEWC, 60%).87 & 88
FIN-TECH Qatar Central Bank established the Fintech Regulatory Sandbox (FRS) and launched Qatar Fintech Hub (QFTH) to boost financial innovation. The sandbox which is cofounded by Qatar Development Bank invites entities to safely live trial their services in the digital payment service space. Furthermore, QFTH has incubator, accelerator, and hackathon programs to help start-ups in Fin- Tech domain.
CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
This report intends to provide a general introduction for those interested in conducting business in Qatar. It should not be taken as comprehensive and definite advice. Significant opportunities for Norwegian businesses in the Qatar market, for the short to mid-term, seems to be within QP’s North Field Expansion plans, huge LNG ship orders, and country’s quest for food security. As the country prepares for the FIFA World Cup 2022, with major infrastructure projects close to their end, digitalization, cyber security, and smart solution remain highly relevant for Qatar’s market. Like other GCC markets, most of Qatar’s industries are headed by the governmental or quasi- governmental entities. Although competition level in Qatar is lower than other locations in the region (e.g. the UAE), but sensitivity and pressure on costs (capex and opex) of projects is increasing. Therefore, Norwegian businesses should understand the specific requirement of each project and try to adapt their proposal with absolute required services. On many occasions the Norwegian solutions are deemed over-priced compared to others simply because of high specification considerations.
86 MEED Projects, 2020 87 Total to develop Qatar’s First Large-Scale (800 MWp) Solar Plant | Total.com 88 Qatar Solar Energy (trade.gov)
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Furthermore, Norwegian companies that are new to the Qatari market should consider following points:
• Companies that are new to the Qatari market, like other locations in the GCC, should generally be willing to invest time and money to build relationship and understand the synergies of market. Companies need to prepare for a period of 3-4 years before being able to generate anticipated revenues. • Although Qatar has become a multicultural country, it is still an Islamic state. Norwegians are advised to familiarize themselves with business norms and etiquettes in Qatar. • Doing business internationally will not be without its own challenges, therefore, Businesses need to have open minds and be flexible enough to adapt when necessary. • Qataris appreciate working with international companies, like international visits, and prefer face-to-face way of doing business. In most cases the fly-in fly-out model of doing business is not suitable and sustainable any more in Qatar. Businesses should consider establishing some form of presence. • Companies should choose a partner that brings useful local knowledge to the table, however, at the same time realistic expectations should be set. It is advisable to conduct a due diligence and background checks before partnering up with the locals. • As with other GCC countries, it is important to consult a reliable Local Lawyer before entering contracts and/or collaboration agreements (e.g. commercial agency agreement) in Qatar, so chances of costly mistakes is reduced. • Disputes with local partners are not uncommon in Qatar. It is important that agreements are not indefinite and have exit provisions. Where possible, companies should always opt for binding arbitration as the method of dispute resolution with arbitration centers in Europe or North America. • It is important that Norwegian businesses maintain some level of independence from their local partner when it comes to acquiring market intelligence or making connections as over reliance could be problematic. • It is important to note that Qatar is a dynamic market and regulations may change overnight. Therefore, we advise to obtain professional advice when evaluating the market.
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APPENDICES
Appendix 1 – Ease of doing business in Qatar (2020) and Global competitiveness index (2019) 89
Ease of Doing Business Index Global Competitiveness Index Global Ranking - 2020 Ranking in 2019
90 83 60 77 53 80 68 50 45 46 70 62 60 40 36 50 43 29 30 25 40 30 20 20 16 10 10 0 0
UAE Bahrain KSA Oman Qatar Kuwait UAE Qatar KSA Bahrain Kuwait Oman
Qatar Region: Middle East & North Africa Ease of doing business rank (1-190) 77 Ease of doing business score (0-100) 68.7 Population 2,781,677
Starting a business 108 Getting credit (rank) 119 Trading across borders (rank) 101 Score for starting business (0-100) 86.1 Score for getting credit (0-100) 45 Score for trading across borders (0-100) 71.5 Procedure (number) 8.5 Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 1 Time to export Time (days) 9 Depth of credit information index (0-8) 8 Documentary compliance (hours) 10 Cost (% of income per capita) 6.3 Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) 34.7 Border compliance (hours) 25 Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 0 Credit registry coverage (% of adults) 10 Cost to export Documentary compliance (US$) 150 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 13 Protecting minority investors (rank) 157 Border compliance (US$) 382 Score - dealing with construction permits (0-100) 84.2 Score for protecting minority investors (0-100) 28 Time to import Procedures (number) 13 Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 2 Documentary compliance (hours) 72 Time (days) 87.5 Extent of director liability index (0-10) 2 Border compliance (hours) 48 Cost (% of warehouse value) 0.1 Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 2 Cost to import Building quality control index (0-15) 13 Extent of shareholder rights index (0-6) 3 Documentary compliance (US$) 290 Extent of ownership and control index (0-7) 2 Border compliance (US$) 558 Getting electricity (rank) 49 Extent of corporate transparency index (0-7) 3 Score for getting electricity (0-100) 83.6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 115 Procedures (number) 4 Paying taxes (rank) 3 Score for enforcing contracts (0-100) 54.6 Time (days) 44 Score for paying taxes (0-100) 99.4 Time (days) 570 Cost (% of income per capita) 9.2 Payments (number per year) 4 Cost (% of claim value) 22.6 Reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs (0-8) 5 Time (hours per year) 41 Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 4.5 Total tax and contribution rate (% of profit) 11.3 Registering property (rank) 1 Post-filing index (0-100) Resolving Insolvency (rank) 123 Score for registering property 96.2 Score for resolving insolvency (0-100) 38 Procedures (number) 1 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 30 Time (days) 1 Time (years) 2.8 Cost (% of property value) 0.3 Cost (% of estate) 22 Quality of land administration (0-30) 26 Outcome (0 as piecemeal sale and 1 as going concern) 0 Strength of insolvency framework (0-16) 7
89 QAT.pdf (doingbusiness.org)
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Appendix 2 – Qatar International Property Rights Index – Overall Score 2020 90
90 Qatar (internationalpropertyrightsindex.org)
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Appendix 3 – Activities which can be covered by a Branch Office and/or an LLC 91
Activity Comment Trading Only LLC Industrial Activities / Only LLC Manufacturing Can be either. If the company needs or would like to import goods/parts Installation / Maintenance / for their work on their own, it must be an LLC. If the company can source Repair its required products from the local market, a Branch structure suffice. Contracting Can be either Architecture/Engineering Can be either General / Administrative Can be either Consultancy Servicing the government or Can be either quasi government contracts
Appendix 4 – Activities in QFZ Qatar Free Zone Authority is focusing its business development efforts to attract and build clusters in emerging technologies ranging from artificial intelligence, robotics, drones, automotive technologies, cybersecurity, 3D Printing, Blockchain, Virtual reality, the Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics and computing power.
QFZ Activities Industrial Products and Services Marine Activities and Services Pharmaceuticals, Life Sciences and Medical Services Logistics and Warehousing Automotive & Transport Equipment Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Aerospace and Aviation Activities Media and Design Services Energy and Environmental Technologies Financial Services and Insurance Construction and Real Estate Professional and Business Services Food and Beverages Leisure and Hospitality Consumer Goods Retail Trade
91 Blog | Venture Partner Qatar (vpqatar.com)
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Appendix 5 – QP’s ICV Program 92
The program is procurement driven, based on a formula, and aligned with the Qatar’s National Vision 2030. It has two main components: localization certificate (scorecard) and localization improvement plan. Under this program suppliers are required to submit both their scorecard and improvement plan which are to be certified by approved independent third-party certifiers. Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Rodl & Partner are among QP’s ICV certifiers.93 The ICV certificates needs to get updated and re-certified annually. The ICV score will have direct and indirect impact, on purchasing process and will, therefore, be considered by EPC contractors on capital projects.
Taken from Tawteen Website
92 TAWTEEN - ICV Overview 93 Blog | Venture Partner Qatar (vpqatar.com)
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Appendix 5 – Qatar’s important ministries and quasi-government entities relevant for business and projects inside country
Entity Task Responsible for overseeing commercial and industrial activities for the State of Qatar. MOCI is focused on the business development needed to attract Ministry of Commerce investments, and support and develop exports. The Ministry is also in charge of and Industry (MOCI) regulating the practise of trade professions, registering commercial and investment establishments, issuing the necessary licenses to carry out their activities, and supervising the regulation and control of markets. Previously known as the Ministry of Energy and Industry, the Ministry for Energy Affairs is responsible for ensuring Qatar’s natural resources are being optimised, while being utilised according to laws. While in charge of the Ministry for Energy Affairs development and overall policy regarding national industries, the Ministry oversees the regular and sustainable supply of energy, power and water within Qatar, making regular reviews of potential and viable alternatives for future use. MOTC regulates land, maritime and air transport in Qatar. The Minister with 3 undersecretaries organises land and maritime transport businesses, develops and improves transport services, and oversees the development of the Ministry of Transport and information and communications technology sector. This includes
Communications (MOTC) implementing and overseeing e-government programs, and raising awareness of the importance of ICT, working towards building a knowledge-based community on digital economy. In charge of municipal affairs and urban planning, MME is responsible for the preparation of urban plans at the State level, land surveying, and land expropriation and temporary land acquisition for the public interest. The Ministry is also tasked to implement municipal projects, including buildings, Ministry of Municipality gardens, parks, and landscaping plantations, as well as monitoring building
and Environment (MME) construction and building control. In terms of environmental affairs, the Ministry oversees sustainable development, creating and implementing laws for the benefit of future generations, finding appropriate solutions for all environmental issues, and coordinating the efforts of all government bodies and non-government organisations to protect the environment. Qatar Chamber is tasked with organising business interests and representing the Qatari private sector locally and globally, while also supporting the country’s economic actors and productivity. All members of the private sector must be registered with Qatar Chamber to perform commercial and industrial activities in the country. The Chamber offers advice to members regarding Qatar Chamber legal, commercial, economic, or technical matters, while also providing mechanisms of reconciliation, conciliation, and arbitration to settle disputes. Among many other tasks, the Chamber issues certificates of origin for exported goods, and attests data and documents of individuals and companies, as well as signatures, stamps, certificates and contracts and other documents required for commercial transactions inside and outside the country. Launched in 2019, the IPA Qatar oversees investment promotion activities under the “Invest Qatar” brand. It acts as the country’s umbrella organization Investment Promotion for Foreign Direct Investment attraction, and to smooth the way for investors’ Agency Qatar (IPA Qatar) journeys to business success in Qatar. This is done via provision of market information, facilitation services, and incentives.
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In charge of all host country planning and operations for the FIFA World Cup 2022, SC is responsible for delivering all infrastructure and proposed Supreme Committee for competition and non-competition venues. While integrating Qatari culture into Delivery & Legacy (SC) its hosting plans, the SC also works to make Qatari football more competitive, and to meet its goal of an environmentally sustainable World Cup. Established as an autonomous body, Ashghal’s key responsibilities include Ashghal (Public Works governing the design, construction, and management of major projects Authority) including roads, drainage and buildings, such as public buildings, schools and hospitals. QF is a non-profit organization made up of more than 50 entities working across education, research, and community development. QF aims to support Qatar on its journey from a carbon economy to a knowledge-based economy by Qatar Foundation (QF) “unlocking human potential.” Furthermore, via establishing partnerships with international institutions, QF bring world-class education, work experience and career opportunities to Qatar’s youth. Education City is one of leading initiative of QF. Established in 1974, QP is a state-owned public corporation responsible for all phases of the oil and gas industry in Qatar. The principal activities of QP and its subsidiaries and joint ventures cover exploration, drilling and production Qatar Petroleum (QP) operations, transport, storage, marketing and sale of crude oil, natural gas liquids, liquefied natural gas (LNG), refined products, petrochemicals and fertilizers, steel, aluminium and helicopter and financial services. Qatar Gas established in 1984, pioneered the LNG industry in Qatar. Qatargas (QG) Today, Qatargas is the largest LNG producer in the world, with an annual LNG production capacity of 77.1 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). Established in 2000, Kahramaa is a government organization committed to Qatar General Electricity sustainable distribution and transmission of electricity & water across Qatar. It and Water Corporation is operated as an independent corporation. Kahramaa is the sole transmission (Kahramaa) and distribution system owner and operator for the electricity and water sector in Qatar. Established in 2009, Mwani Qatar is responsible for developing and managing the nation’s seaports and shipping terminals; Hamad Port, Al Ruwais Port, Doha Port. It also provides navigation assistance and pilotage, towage, and Mwani Qatar Aids to Navigation (AtoNs) as well as loading, unloading, cargo handling, and storage. Mwani Qatar oversees Jery Musabbeh container management station as well. Msheireb Properties is a real estate company and a subsidiary of QF. The company was established as a commercial venture to support the Foundation’s Msheireb aims of creating leading edge urban living concepts that build on traditional Arabian architecture and design and contribute to the social and cultural heritage of Doha. Qatari Diar Real Estate Company was established in 2005 by the Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar. Qatari Diar Headquartered in Doha, Qatari Diar is entrusted to support Qatar’s growing economy and to coordinate the country’s real estate development priorities.
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Appendix 7 – Largest projects under construction in Qatar 94
Budget Completion Project name Project owner (US$ m) year Hamad International Airport Hamad International Airport 14,316 2022 Steering Committee (HIA) Lusail Development: Marina District Lusail Real Estate Development Co. 3,602 2025 QIRP: Doha Metro: Phase 1 Qatar Rail Company 3,114 2023 QIRP: Light Rail Transit (LRT) Qatar Rail Company 2,188 2020 Energy City Qatar Energy City Development Company 2,124 2020 Expressway Program: Al Khor Qatar Public Works Authority 2,100 2020 Expressway (ASHGHAL) Lusail Development: Fox Hills Lusail Real Estate Development Co. 2,075 2025 Qatar Economic Zone (QEZ): QEZ3 Qatar Free Zones Authority 1,913 2024 QIRP: Doha Metro: Red Line North: Qatar Rail Company 1,760 2020 Tunneling Works Expressway Program: New Orbital Qatar Public Works Authority 1,691 2020 Highway & Truck Route: Contract 3 (ASHGHAL) Qatar Public Works Authority Dukhan Road / Khalifa Avenue 1,520 2020 (ASHGHAL) Lusail Development: Lusail Plaza Lusail Real Estate Development Co. 1,395 2022 Emir's Palace in Lusail Private Engineering Office 1,350 2020 Expressway Program: New Orbital Qatar Public Works Authority 1,335 2020 Highway and Truck Route (ASHGHAL) Lusail Development: Infrastructure: Lusail Real Estate Development Co. 1,200 2020 Package CP07B Hamad International Airport Hamad International Airport 1,096 2023 Expansion: Phase 2 Steering Committee (HIA) Mega Reservoirs: Primary Reservoirs Qatar Electricity & Water Company 1,056 2020 & Pumping Stations (PRPS) (QEWC) Qatar Transmission Phase 13: Cables Qatar Electricity & Water Company 1,040 2020 (GTC/736/2015) (QEWC) Entertainment City: Place Vendome United Developers 1,000 2020 Expressway Program: Doha Dukhan Qatar Public Works Authority Highway: Al-Mail-Bani Hajer 900 2020 (ASHGHAL) Roundabout
94 MEED Projects, 2020
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Appendix 8 – Qatar’s largest projects in the pipeline (planned but unawarded) 95
Budget Completion Project name Project owner (US$ m) year LNG Processing Trains (EPC-1) QatarGas 20,000 2025 North Field South Development QatarGas 12,000 2028 Barwa Al Khor Development Barwa Real Estate Company 9,811 2022 Lusail Development Lusail Real Estate Development Co. 8,367 2022 Ras Laffan Petrochemical Complex Qatar Chemicals Company (Q-Chem) 5,000 2025 Qatar Electricity & Water Company Facility E IWPP 3,000 2024 (QEWC) Water Security Mega Reservoirs: Qatar Electricity & Water Company 3,000 2036 Phase 2 (QEWC) QIRP: Doha Metro: Phase 2: Blue Line Qatar Rail Company 3,000 2026 Tunneling Works Barzan Gas Development: Onshore QatarGas/ExxonMobil 3,000 2025 (Phase 3) Pearl Qatar United Development Co. 2,046 2024 Msheireb Downtown Doha Msheireb Properties 2,007 2022 QIRP: Doha Metro: Phase 2 Qatar Rail Company 2,000 2026 Barzan Gas Development: Onshore ExxonMobil/QatarGas 2,000 2025 (Phase 2) Barzan Gas Development in Qatar ExxonMobil/QatarGas 1,800 2025 Hamad International Airport Hamad International Airport 1,700 2023 Expansion: Concourse D and E Steering Committee (HIA) Qatar Public Works Authority Expressway Project 1,672 2022 (ASHGHAL) Lean LNG Storage and Loading QatarGas 1,500 2025 Expansion (EPC-2) Al Jawhara City (Oasis of Life) Qatari Diar 1,452 2023 New Port Project Steering Hamad Port 1,385 2023 Committee (NPP) University Expansion Qatar University 1,242 2022
Biggest Future project owner in Qatar by value of planned contracts
95 MEED Projects, 2020
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Appendix 9 – 2020 Global LNG Trade; flow between top 10 exporters and top 10 importers 96
Appendix 10 – Qatar’s current LNG and GTL facilities 97
Project Capacity Qatargas 1 9.7 mmtpa (3 trains) Qatargas 2 15.6 mmtpa (2 trains) Qatargas 3 7.8 mmtpa (1 train) Qatargas 4 7.8 mmtpa (1 train) RasGas 1 (Ras Laffan 1) 6.6 mmtpa (2 trains) RasGas 2 (Ras Laffan 2) 14.1 mmtpa (3 trains) Ras Laffan 3 15.6 mmtpa (2 trains) Pearl GTL 140,000 b/d (2 trains) Oryx GTL 34,000 b/d
96 2020-World-LNG-Report.pdf (igu.org) 97 Wood Mackenzie – Country Report 2020
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Appendix 11 – IOC and Asian Oil companies’ participation in Qatar’s gas projects 98
Award Project Development Participation Date North Field Alpha 1991 Domestic gas QP (100%) QP (65%), TOTAL (20%), ExxonMobil Qatargas 1 1993 LNG (10%), Marubeni (2.5%), Mitsui (2.5%) QP (63%), ExxonMobil (25%), Itochu RasGas 1 1993 LNG (4%), KOGAS (3%), LNG Japan (3%), others (2%) Domestic gas / Al Khaleej Gas phase 1 2000 ExxonMobil (100%) GTL QP (68.83%), ExxonMobil (29.5%), RasGas 2 2001 LNG CPC (1.67%) Gas export Mubadala (51%), Occidental Dolphin Gas 2001 pipeline Petroleum (29.5%), Total (24.5%) QP (67.5%), ExxonMobil (24.15%), Qatargas 2 2002 LNG Total (8.35%) QP (68.50%), ConocoPhillips (30%), Qatargas 3 2003 LNG Mitsui (1.5%) RasGas 3 2003 LNG QP (70%), ExxonMobil (30%) Preal GTL 2004 GTL Shell (100%) Qatargas 4 2005 LNG QP (70%), Shell (30%) Al Khaleej Gas phase 2 2006 Domestic gas ExxonMobil (80%), QP (20%) Barzan 2007 Domestic gas QP (93%), ExxonMobil (7%)
98 Wood Mackenzie – Country Report 2020
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Appendix 12 – Qatargas Protfolio and schematic value chain 99
99 Qatargas - About Us
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Appendix 13 – Largest Oil & Gas projects under construction in Qatar 100
Budget Project name Project owner Completion (US$ m) North Field East Development: QatarGas 720 2023 Offshore Al Shaheen Field Development: Phase North Oil Company 560 2021 2 Installation of Jackets QatarGas 480 2022 Gallaf Production Project: Batch 1 North Oil Company 300 2021 Gallaf Production Project: Batch 2 North Oil Company 240 2021 North Field East Development: QatarGas 222 2025 Onshore Idd e Shargi North Dome Expansion Qatar Petroleum 200 2020 Phase 5: Fabrication of CSP Jet Supply Pipeline Project: Receiving Qatar Petroleum 180 2020 Facility Jet Supply Pipeline Project: Storage Qatar Petroleum 180 2020 Tanks Dukhan Field Well Flowlines Qatar Petroleum 160 2022 Dukhan Production Facilities Qatar Petroleum 160 2022 Upgrade: Phase 1A Acid Gas Removal Project Qatar Petroleum 65 2023 HIA Expansion: Phase 2: Western and Hamad International Airport 64 2022 Midfield Fuel Farm Facility Steering Committee (HIA) Rehabilitation of Storage Tanks, Qatar Petroleum 51 2024 Spheres & Bullets MTBE Plant Regeneration Gas Qatar Fuel Additive Co. 50 2023 Scrubber Project (RGS) Halul Crude Oil Storage Tank & Qatar Petroleum 50 2023 Associated Facilities Diversion of ONSAG Gas Pipeline Qatar Petroleum 40 2020 from Dukhan to Mesaieed: Phase 2 KHUFF Gas Wells & Arab D Gas Cap Qatar Petroleum 30 2022 Recycling Wells to Injection Facility Rehabilitation of Crude Oil and Qatar Petroleum 24 2020 Naphtha Storage Tanks at Mesaieed MP Steam Boiler and DM Water Plant Qatar Petroleum 20 2021 at QP Refinery
100 MEED Projects, 2020
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Appendix 14 – Largest Oil & Gas projects in the bidding stage (planned but unawarded) 101
Budget Project name Project owner Completion (US$ m) LNG Processing Trains (EPC-1) QatarGas 20,000 2025 Lean LNG Storage and Loading QatarGas 1,500 2025 Expansion (EPC-2) RLTO and Offplot Facility (EPC-3) QatarGas 1,200 2025 Gallaf Production Project: Batch 3 North Oil Company 1,200 2024 QAFCO VII Expansion Qatar Fertiliser Co. 500 2023 Idd e Shargi North Dome Expansion Phase 5: Installation of Subsea Qatar Petroleum 500 2023 Pipelines NFPS: Drilling and Production QatarGas 300 2023 Platforms NFPS: Pipelines QatarGas 200 2023 Debottlenecking of NGL-3 Extraction Qatar Petroleum 32 2022 Unit
Appendix 15 – Largest Oil & Gas projects in the design, FEED, or study stage (planned but unawarded) 102
Budget Project name Project owner Completion (US$ m) North Field South Development QatarGas 12,000 2028 Ras Laffan Petrochemical Complex Qatar Chemicals Company (Q-Chem) 5,000 2025 Barzan Gas Development: Onshore QatarGas/ExxonMobil 3,000 2025 (Phase 3) Barzan Gas Development: Onshore QatarGas/ExxonMobil 2,000 2025 (Phase 2) Barzan Gas Development in Qatar QatarGas/ExxonMobil 1,800 2025 Pipelines and Topsides Facilities QatarGas 800 2022 Barzan Gas Development: Offshore QatarGas/ExxonMobil 700 2025 (Phase 2) Idd El Shargi North Dome Expansion: Qatar Petroleum 536 2023 Phase 5 Dukhan Crude Storage Tanks, MOL, Qatar Petroleum 400 2023 Sludge Handling Facilities Barzan Gas Development: Offshore QatarGas/ExxonMobil 300 2025 (Phase 3) Al Shaheen Field: Gallaf Production North Oil Company 260 2024 Project Jet Supply Pipeline Project in Qatar Qatar Petroleum 110 2020 Raslaffan LPG Bottling Plant Qatar Petroleum 70 2022
101 MEED Projects, 2020 102 MEED Projects, 2020
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Appendix 16 – Erhama Bin Jaber Al Jalahma Shipyard Facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City 103
103 N-KOM_BROCHURE.pdf (nakilat.com)
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Appendix 17 – Qatar’s largest projects in other relevant sectors 104
Under construction
Budget Project name Project owner Completion (US$ m) New Port: Specialist Storage Facilities New Port Project Steering Committee 439 2020 Phase 1 (NPP) 800 MW Solar PV Plant in Al Kharsaah Siraj Energy 374 2022 (IPP) Al Dhakhira Sewage Treatment Plant, ASHGHAL 373 2020 Pumping Station & Pipelines Hamad Port: Phase 2 (NPP / 0086) QTerminals 340 2022 Integrated Industrial Wastewater ASHGHAL 97 2021 Treatment Works: Phase 3A Expansion
In bidding stage
Budget Project name Project owner Completion (US$ m) Integrated Industrial Wastewater ASHGHAL 100 2023 Treatment: Phase 1 (CP 798) Qatar Electricity & Water Company Waste to Energy Project 100 2023 (QEWC)
In design, FEED, or study stage
Budget Project name Project owner Completion (US$ m) New Port Project Steering Committee Hamad Port 1,385 2023 (NPP) Doha Port Infrastructure and Qatar Ministry of Transport & 229 2021 Renovation Communications Ras Laffan: Wastewater Recycle and QatarGas 140 2023 Reuse
104 MEED Projects, 2020
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Appendix 18 – Qatar National Food Security Strategy 2018-2023 105
- 13 initiatives:
- Self-sufficiency status and target by 2023 for different food items (as of January 2020)
105 cview (mme.gov.qa)
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