Qatar rules out Hormuz pipeline bypass and reshapes its sovereign wealth strategy
Qatar said a gas pipeline to bypass the Strait of Hormuz would make no economic sense. It also launched a new investment platform to manage QIA’s domestic holdings and outlined more than $60bn in investment opportunities, in a major reshaping of its sovereign wealth strategy.
Qatar has dismissed the idea of bypassing the Strait of Hormuz through pipelines, citing economic and technical reasons. Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi stated that alternative routes through neighboring countries have been offered, but transporting LNG through conventional pipelines would require additional facilities, which would duplicate existing ones in Qatar.
Al-Kaabi dismissed US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's prediction that the strait could become "worthless" within two years, emphasizing that the Hormuz carries trade in various products, not just oil and gas. The North Field expansion aims to boost Qatar's LNG production capacity from 77 million tonnes to 142 million tonnes by 2030, with the first production unit at the East project expected to commence operations in the first half of 2027.
The North Field South project is slated to begin production in 2028. Unaffected units at Ras Laffan could resume normal operations within weeks if Hormuz is reopened, but repairs to damaged units at the site are projected to take three years. The disruption has adversely affected Qatar's GDP, which contracted by 7% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026.
In response, Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani unveiled the Doha Investment platform, pledging over $60bn in projects and investment opportunities over the next five years.
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