Qatar’s withdrawal from OPEC is a surprise for Oman’s oil minister Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhi, who said in an interview with S&P Global Platts on Monday that Qatar might face retaliation from other members that could pull out of a similar organization of gas exporting countries. Earlier on Monday, Qatar announced that it was withdrawing from OPEC effective January 1, 2019, and had informed OPEC of this decision, Qatar Petroleum said . Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs, said that the decision for the withdrawal “reflects Qatar’s desire to focus its efforts on plans to develop and increase its natural gas production from 77 million tons per year to 110 million tons in the coming years.” However, the motives probably run much deeper than prioritizing natural gas at the world’s top exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG). OPEC’s de facto leader and largest producer […]