US media reported in late April that global demand for natural gas in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has positioned Qatar for a significant boost in its influence capacity. According to a Bloomberg report:
April 29, 2021 As planes begin their descent into Doha, passengers can look down at the brand new 80,000-seat stadium rising from the desert that will host the final of the World Cup in December. They may also notice another striking image: tankers lined up in the Persian Gulf to collect super-chilled natural gas. Football and an increasingly indispensable fuel may have little in common, yet they are coming together to give Qatar outsized influence on the global stage. As the World Cup showcases its ability to acquire international prestige, Qatar’s status as a much-coveted gas supplier is promising to turn the tiny peninsula into the bigger player it always aspired to be. Soaring oil prices because of the war in Ukraine have boosted Middle East oil producers like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, but the financial and geopolitical rewards on offer for Qatar make it the standout winner after Vladimir Putin’s invasion forced Europe to start weaning itself off Russian energy imports. Several of the European Union’s most senior officials have flown to Doha in recent weeks, all with a clear message: we need your gas as fast as possible. Germany has told businesses to start negotiating supply deals. The urgency became more acute this week after Russia cut off supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. Qatar’s energy exports were already due to reach $100 billion this year for the first time since 2014 based on trends from the first quarter, according to Bloomberg calculations. That will allow it to spend even greater riches in global stock markets and on pursuing its foreign policy goals, mainly via its $450 billion sovereign wealth fund. Meanwhile, the Qatari government expects a $20 billion economic boost from staging the World Cup. The 2022 figure assumes average from first quarter for whole year; hydrocarbons and products derived from them account for over 90% of exports That’s made 2022 more than just the year Qatar will make its mark on the sporting calendar, enriching what’s already one of the wealthiest countries and boosting its clout in a way that looked unlikely just a year ago.
Read the rest here (paywall).
The Global Influence Operations Report (GIOR) reported last week on US officials involved in an ongoing investigation into illegal lobbying on behalf of Qatar.
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