‘Vital to exert necessary efforts to solve tiff between Qatar, GCC states’

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Decision will not greatly hit oil, gas prices: Dr Emad

KUWAIT CITY, June 7: Former member of the Supreme Petroleum Council Dr Emad Al-Etaiqi stressed the importance of exerting necessary efforts to solve the dispute between Qatar and a number of Gulf countries in order to avoid the political and economic implications of the decision to cut off ties with Qatar. He said the decision will not greatly affect the oil and gas prices, but the diplomatic decisions has started affecting the economy of Qatar, especially with the loss of millions of dollars so far.

Al-Etaiqi highlighted the increase in the shipping and travelling costs due to change in the destinations via Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the Kuwait Company for Material Excavation Dr. Hassan Qabazard said the decision’s effect on the oil prices will not be huge and it will not have dangerous consequences in the future.

However, he stressed that the decision will have negative effects on the economy of Qatar, revealing that deterioration of the Qatari stock exchange might be the start of those negative effects. Qabazard said the recent report of MODES indicated that the decision will badly affect the credit rating of Qatar, adding that the production and export of Qatari gas will continue and will still be the major source of income for Qatar.

Political analyst and a member of Kuwait Economic Society Dr. Hani Bakheer indicated that the negative effects of the decision will appear on the long run if the decision is not amended soon. He stressed that the oil prices will not be affected majorly by the decision, adding that the decision will affect only Qatar in case it lasts for a long period. Dr Bakheer added that the region has the lowest level of stability in the world due to the fact that it contains highest amounts of oil and gas.

Oil Expert Dr Abdulsamee Behbehani stressed that the decision was supposed to positively impact the oil prices throughout the world especially with the geopolitical effects on the economic situations. He said the oil prices witnessed a minor increase following the issuance of the decision but they returned to the level they were prior to the decision.

Dr Behbehani affirmed that production of Qatari gas will continue as usual, adding that some gas fields are producing gas in line with its partnership with Iran due to the historic relations shared by the two countries.

By Abdullah Othman Al-Seyassah Staff

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