Many Arab officials have taken part in building and developing the natural gas industry in their countries. However, Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, the former Minister of Energy and Industry in Qatar, who was at the helm of the oil industry in his country since 1992, has managed to leave his mark on this industry for two decades. He did so by focusing on the development of oil production capacity in Qatar at a time when the state focused on the development of the natural gas industry (oil production increased from around 350 thousand barrels per day to about 900 thousand barrels per day). This surprised all pundits who expected Qatar to withdraw from OPEC in the eighties, because of its continuously declining production capacity at the time. Al-Attiyah also worked on developing natural gas production in Qatar, which has now reached approximately 70 billion cubic feet annually, and on the construction of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry, which is technically sophisticated in comparison with the oil industry, leading the LNG production capacity of Qatar to reach 77 million tons a year at the end of 2010. The former minister also supervised the construction of a large fleet of tankers, something that gives Qatari gas flexibility that allows is to enter the greatest part of major consumption markets, in addition to the construction of terminals and ports to receive gas in consumer countries. Al-Attiyah also managed to increase petroleum production to nearly 4.5 million barrels per day of oil equivalent (crude oil + natural gas + petroleum liquids). Qatar's oil revenue in 2007 amounted to about 30 billion dollars. This is in addition to the use of gas as fuel in power and desalination plants, as feedstock in the petrochemical industry, and even in refining to produce more environmentally friendly petroleum products. Al-Attiyah managed to “manufacture” gas in his country, by following a transparent approach that is widely known. Under his tenure, petroleum policy was characterized by allocating tens of billions of dollars annually on projects, and by the assiduous attention afforded to finishing these projects on schedule, and within the allocated budget. This is not to mention the hiring of experts that are renowned for their expertise from Qatar and other Arab countries, while Qatar cooperated with several international oil companies. Al-Attiyah's focus on supporting the Arab oil industry, and on the cooperation with Arab countries was also evident, whenever there was a chance to do so. Such stances are not surprising from Al-Attiyah, since he belongs to a generation that believes in Arab cooperation despite its inherent difficulties. Qatar Petroleum, which al-Attiyah headed in the past, attempted to build several export pipelines to neighboring countries, and succeeded in building the Dolphin pipeline to the UAE and Oman, which was the first inter-Arab project for the export of natural gas. In the middle of the last decade, al-Attiyah opened a regional office in Lebanon for the distribution of petrochemical products. He was also keen on active participation in Arab and international conferences and events concerned with the oil industry. A comprehensive examination of his statements and remarks at these conferences indicate that he has always been determined to explain his country's policies and natural gas projects, and to defend the decisions taken by OPEC. He also contributed in reconciling the views of OPEC member states, whenever the need for this arose. Last week, an Emiri decision was taken, relieving Al-Attiyah from his petroleum responsibilities, while retaining him in his post as Deputy Prime Minister in addition to his new responsibilities, as Chairman of the Emiri Diwan. The decision was issued in the same week, during which al-Attiyah and his delegation in Beijing were discussing with Chinese officials the possibility of increasing petroleum cooperation between the two countries, and also in the same week, during which Qatar agreed to export liquefied natural gas to Bangladesh. In truth, this move towards Asian countries does not come as a surprise. After the discovery of the commercial potential of shale gas in the United States, and the reduction of quantities exported to North America, Qatar turned extensively to the huge and expanding markets in Asia. It is extremely difficult after two decades of diligent work in a specialized sector such as the petroleum industry, to forget this effort, especially as al-Attiyah's mark and experience are very prominent in various parts of the sector. Since al-Attiyah was appointed to a very senior political position, there is a belief that his priorities will focus on politics, which is a favorite line of work for him, and in which he is extremely well versed, especially at the Arab level. Many Arab journalists attest to this, as al-Attiyah would discuss with them, over many hours, the most intricate details of their countries' politics, be they minor or major issues. Nonetheless, a major part of his attention will remain focused on the oil sector, where he spent most of his career. *. Mr. Khadduri is an energy expert
