DOHA: The deal to lift sanctions against Iran will not have any significant impact on Qatari economy, despite expectations of lower energy prices as a result of Tehran pumping extra quantities of oil into global energy market.
Qatar has huge reserves of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and most of its contracts are long-term. The deal will have only limited impact on Qatari economy, that too in long-term, Al Arab quoted local experts as saying.
The Western agreement with Iran will have a positive impact on Iran. But its brunt on the GCC economies will be minimal. In contrast to the general perception that the deal would influence negatively the regional economy, the agreement will help ease tensions in the region triggering inflow of foreign investments, economist Qasim Mohammad Qasim noted.
“The impact of the deal will be negligible for Qatar. For, Qatar has huge gas reserves, and there is no much gap between the demand and supply in long-term... As Iran will not be pumping out huge volume of oil immediately, the world energy prices are unlikely to be influenced at least in short-term”, he added.
Abdul Sattar Al Rasheed, an energy expert noted that Iran’s return to the global energy market will make the market competitive enabling Tehran to recapture its lost ground. Iran’s extra pumping of oil into the global market will have significant impact on the revenues of most of the Gulf States. Qatar may be an exception as its economy is mainly depending on LNG. The fact that most of its gas contracts are long-term will help the country immune from the Iran impact.
Asian economies, including China, India and Japan are going to really benefit from Iran’s revisit to the global energy market. The new development is also expected to stablise the global energy market, said another expert.
The Peninsula
