Qatar, one of the largest exporters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the world, is expected to boost public spending this year on the back of higher oil and gas revenues and a conservative assumption of 2022 oil prices in its budget, Oxford Economics says in a report cited by Gulf Times.
Qatar, like other major energy exporters in the Middle East, is set to benefit from the higher oil and gas prices in 2022, Oxford Economics says.
Qatar has adopted a budget for 2022 assuming an average oil price of $55 per barrel this year, well below the expectations of many analysts and forecasters who expect oil to average around $70 a barrel.
Qatar's non-energy sector is also rapidly expanding and expects a positive 2022 performance.
"Firms also remained positive regarding the outlook for 2022, linked to business opportunities arising from the FIFA World Cup and new regional markets opening up to its products," said Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida, Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority, in the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) survey published by IHS Markit earlier this week.
According to Oxford Economics, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE-will be one of only two major regions globally, the other being ASEAN, to grow faster-at a rate of more than 5 percent-in 2022 compared to last year, provided the Omicron variant does not prove too disruptive.
Gulf oil producers are expected to see their economies grow faster than previously predicted after oil prices recovered in 2021 and global oil demand is close to reaching pre-pandemic levels within months.
The six major Middle Eastern oil and gas producers part of the GCC are set to book faster economic growth in 2022 than previously expected, if oil prices don't pull back significantly this year, a Reuters poll showed in October.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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