LNG trade ‘helping Qatar maximise resource value’

By Pratap John/Chief Business ReporterQatar will be able to maximise the value of its resources for decades as global LNG trade will provide a critical means to balance supply and demand, said  Andrew P Swiger, senior vice-president of ExxonMobil Corporation. Liquefied natural gas, in particular, will play a pivotal role in meeting the world’s rising demand for natural gas and, for this reason, Qatar will be critical to global markets, Swiger said at the Brookings Doha Energy Forum yesterday. “Not only is Qatar well positioned for this global shift to natural gas, it is also a shining example of energy innovation.“Qatar offers an example of how governments can act prudently to unleash investments in innovation that improve safety and performance,” he said.Swiger said Qatar has shown that regulations must strike an appropriate balance between proper risk management and economic viability. Qatar, he said, provides a clear roadmap for how to get things done and demonstrates what happens when a government creates a framework of sound and stable legal and tax policies that do not change with the ups and downs of commodity price cycles.“Consider the farsighted vision articulated by HH the Emir for his people — the Qatar National Vision 2030.“This vision provides a strategy to invest state resources to modernise Qatar’s economy, to further education, and develop human potential and society, as well as to protect the environment,” the ExxonMobil Corporation executive said.Swiger said that Qatar’s forward-looking approach, already apparent in Doha’s futuristic skyline, is the kind of positive change that is sure to generate multiplier effects throughout the region, if not the world.  “If governments can work together to reduce barriers to trade and invest in human potential, industry will continue to find more innovative and efficient ways to bring energy and greater prosperity to a growing and increasingly interdependent world,” he said.On global energy demand, Swiger said the world needs government and industry to innovate to meet it, which has been forecast to rise by 35% by 2040.ExxonMobil expects global electricity demand to grow by about 85% by 2040, especially given rapid urbanisation in China, where demand for electricity will more than double, and India, where it will more than quadruple.  “To meet rising demand for electricity, we will need to develop all economically competitive sources of energy. Among the most important for future will be natural gas,” Swiger said. “Because of its abundance and reliability, we expect natural gas will overtake coal as the number two source of energy sometime around the year 2025,” he added.