Qatar’s economy is returning to the momentum of growth in the medium term after the increase in liquefied natural gas production resulting from the expansion of the largest North Field in the world, according to estimates by the International Monetary Fund.
“Qatar’s economy achieved strong growth in 2022, supported by the World Cup,” the fund said in a statement on Thursday, following the end of the expert mission’s visit in preparation for the Article IV consultations.
However, he indicated that the growth of the economy will return to normal in the near term, as he expects an increase The gross domestic product will increase between 2% and 2.5% during the current and next years due to the strong domestic demand and the continuous expansion of liquefied natural gas production.
Fund experts predicted that the growth rate would rise in the medium term between 4% and 4.5% after the expansion of the North Field begins to boost LNG production.
Qatar intends to increase its production capacity of liquefied natural gas by more than 60% to reach 126 million tons annually by the end of the current decade, and it will achieve this through the development of the east of the North Field, which is scheduled to start in 2026, and the south of the North Field, which will be ready for export in 2027.
“With the help of buoyant export earnings and public spending, current and external accounts are expected to run surpluses over the medium term,” the fund said.
Qatar is the only country among the Gulf countries that Expect The World Bank is expected to achieve growth in the oil sector during the current year, and it expects its economy to grow by 3.3% in 2023.
The activities of the accommodation and food services sector in Qatar grew by 64.8% during the last quarter of last year, during which the country witnessed the World Cup events, which contributed to the jump in the country’s gross domestic product by 8% on an annual basis in the last quarter of last year. Qatar’s budget also achieved a surplus Actually, it amounts to 89 billion riyals ($24.4 billion) in 2022.
