The 10 most important economic events that Qatar and the world witnessed in 2022 may continue to harvest until 2023
December 28, 2022, 10:34 a.m
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Doha – the site of the East
The year 2022 witnessed many global events, in which the economy had the largest part of the transient legacy, with its repercussions for the place, “the borders between countries” and “time”, with renewed hope every year to put an end to the suffering that it may face in the future. More than 8 billion people are the number of the Earth’s population, according to estimates of nations the United States last November 15.
During the year that is preparing to leave in a few days, energy, especially oil and gas, and the countries that produce it have strengthened their position for years to come, in light of the continuous rise in prices due to the repercussions of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war since February 24.
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Among the many economic events that took place in 2022 or the “Year of Energy”, we monitor for you in the following report the most important news and events that Qatar and the world witnessed.
1- Gas Exporting Countries Forum
His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the country, under his generous patronage included the inauguration of the sixth summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum on February 22 under the slogan “Natural Gas: Drawing the Future of Energy”.
The Gas Exporting Countries Forum includes 11 member states, namely Qatar, Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela, in addition to 7 observer countries, namely Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, Norway, Peru and the UAE.
Natural gas, one of the fossil fuels, has a large share in terms of global consumption, which made this industry face many global challenges, not in terms of the increasing demand for energy, but in terms of environmental, social and economic aspects in both exporting and importing countries.
2- Getting Russia out of Swift
On February 27, 3 days after the outbreak of the Russo-Ukraine war, the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States announced in a joint statement their commitment to ensuring that selected Russian banks are removed from the SWIFT financial system that connects thousands of banking institutions around the world.
About 11,000 institutions worldwide benefit from SWIFT services across 212 countries, and most of the institutions benefiting from the SWIFT mechanism are banks, although there is another institution other than banks that benefits from this service, such as non-bank financial institutions and barter companies, according to Al Jazeera Net.
Through Swift technology, funds are transferred from one country to another within 24 hours. This system is also used within the country, but it is more useful in foreign transactions between countries.
3- America raises interest rates for the first time in years
On March 16, the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points for the first time since the end of 2018, due to the repercussions of Corona and the Russian-Ukrainian war, starting a series of additional increases, the repercussions of which the world is still suffering until now.
4- A new mechanism for selling Russian gas to “unfriendly” countries
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on March 31 that the new mechanism for selling Russian gas to “unfriendly” countries will enter into force on April 1.
Putin said that “unfriendly countries” should open ruble accounts in Russian banks, which would be used to pay for gas supplied.
The decision, according to experts and analysts, targets European countries, as one of the most affected by the decision in the framework of the ongoing conflict against the backdrop of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
5- Qatar Economic Forum 2022
His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the country, under his generous patronage included the inauguration of the Qatar Economic Forum 2022 in cooperation with Bloomberg, on June 21, under the slogan “Achieving Equality in the Global Economic Recovery”.
In his speech, His Highness stressed that supporting the economy, investment and innovation, in parallel with promoting common human values and preserving peace, is the way to build the necessary capabilities to overcome crises and overcome the challenges facing all humanity, such as the threat of epidemics and climate change, which is one of the most dangerous challenges we are witnessing in our time.
He added that Qatar assumes its responsibility as an active partner in the international community to confront climate change in its various economic, environmental and social dimensions. Qatar was one of the first and pioneering countries at the global level to establish the “Zero Neutrality Forum for Producers”, which is an international initiative aimed at consolidating the principles on which the Paris Agreement on climate change was built, especially in the field of developing practical strategies to reach carbon emissions to zero neutrality, and promoting the circular economy approach. and development of energy technologies.
A number of Their Excellencies, heads of state and government, ministers, senior political officials, economists, experts, and heads of companies from Qatar and the world participated in the forum.
6- Agreement on the re-export of Ukrainian grain
On July 22, after months of Russian-Ukrainian wars, the interruption of grain supplies and the occurrence of a food crisis affecting many countries of the world, Ukraine and Russia reached an agreement with Turkey and the United Nations regarding the transfer of Ukrainian grain stuck in the Black Sea ports to global markets.
7- Shutting down the “Nord Stream 1” pipeline for Russian gas for an indefinite period
On September 2, the Russian Gazprom Group announced the closure of the gas supply line to Europe via Germany, “Nord Stream 1”, for an indefinite period, after the company announced that it had discovered malfunctions in the turbines of the line that extends at a depth of 1,200 kilometers under the Baltic Sea from the Russian coast near St. Petersburg to northeastern Germany.
8- Opening of the Kharsaa solar power plant
On October 18, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the country, included under his generous patronage the inauguration ceremony of the Kharsaa solar power plant.
The Kharsaa solar power plant has a capacity of 800 megawatts, which is the first in the State of Qatar and one of the largest plants of its kind in the region in terms of size and capacity. Its cost is about 1.7 billion riyals.
It covers an area of more than 10 square kilometres, and includes more than 1,800,000 solar panels. It provides the equivalent of 10% of the country’s electric power at peak time.
9- Qatar is investing in the largest integrated petrochemical complex in the world
Qatar Energy and Chevron Phillips Chemical Company announced on November 16 their final decision to invest in the construction of the Golden Triangle Polymers Plant in the Gulf Coast, Texas, USA, at a cost of about $8.5 billion.
The new plant includes an ethylene unit with a capacity of 2.08 million tons per year, making it the largest in the world, and two units for the production of high-density polyethylene with a total capacity of 2 million tons per year, which will make them the largest units for the production of derivatives of their kind in the world.
Work on building the plant will begin immediately, with production expected to begin in 2026. The plant will be owned by Golden Triangle Polymers Company LLC, a joint venture in which Qatar Energy owns a 49% stake, while Chevron Phillips owns a 51% stake.
10- A new era of gas
During the current year 2022, “Qatar Energy” revealed the companies concerned with expanding the Northeast Gas Field, to enter the first phase to raise the state’s production of liquefied natural gas to 110 million tons, an increase of 43%. The actual completion phase, so that the four new production lines hit a date with the year 2025. The date of the start of production, according to the Qatar News Agency.
A disclosure confirmed by experts in previous statements to Qatar News Agency that it paves the way for the announcement of the winning companies to develop the second phase of the southern sector of the North Field at the beginning of the year 2023, which aims to increase the national production capacity of liquefied natural gas from 110 million tons annually to 126 million tons by 2027. .
Earlier this year, Total Energies, Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, Eni and Shell won contracts to develop the Northeast field, whose investments cost about $28.75 billion.
The North Gas Field is a giant natural gas field located in the waters of the Arabian Gulf. It is the largest gas field in the world, containing 50.97 trillion cubic meters of gas.
The area of the field is about 9,700 square kilometres, of which 6,000 are in Qatar’s territorial waters. The field was discovered in 1971 and production began in 1989.
The field contains an estimated 51 trillion cubic meters of natural gas and about 50 billion barrels (7.9 billion cubic meters) of natural gas condensate, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Qatar currently has a nominal liquefaction capacity of 77mtpa, following Australia’s capacity of 88mtpa.
North South Field
On October 30, Qatar Energy Company signed an agreement with ConocoPhillips, under which the latter will be a third partner for the North South Field expansion project, which includes two giant lines for the production of liquefied natural gas, with a total capacity of 16 million tons annually.
Under the agreement, ConocoPhillips will own a 6.25% stake in the total 25% stake in the international partnership, while Qatar Energy will own the remaining 75% stake in the project.
The North Field Expansion Project, consisting of two eastern and southern parts, is the largest project in the history of the LNG industry, and production will start in 2026, adding 48 million tons annually to LNG supplies in the world by 2027.
