Qatar Petroleum’s further increase in the capacity of Qatar’s LNG expansion project at the offshore North Field will significantly boost the local economy, said QP President & CEO Saad Sherida al-Kaabi.

Replying to a question by Gulf Times at a media event at the Qatar Petroleum headquarters on Wednesday al-Kaabi said the mega project would require huge quantities of material such as steel, cement and concrete manufactured locally.

“Plus, you need thousands of workers – blue coloured, white coloured and engineers among others on the project,” al-Kaabi noted.

He said the project would also enhance the construction sector, which is now facing a downturn.

In a recent report, QNB noted that Qatar’s decision to increase LNG output by 2024 will “increasingly drive Qatar’s next development phase” as the current multi-year wave of infrastructure spending begins to flatten out in terms of growth contribution.

This increase in capacity, QNB said, will require huge investments, both onshore and offshore; including the construction of three new LNG trains to process the gas.

Beyond the direct impact on non-hydrocarbon GDP, this new investment phase, which should begin in earnest from 2020 onwards, will generate substantial multiplier effects on the wider economy, lifting demand for goods and services and driving the country’s development in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030, QNB said in its ‘Qatar Economic Insight – September’.

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