Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatari Minister of State for Energy Affairs, speaks during a press conference in the capital Doha (AFP)
Qatar is to leave OPEC next month in order for the Gulf state to focus on gas production, Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi announced on Monday.
"Qatar has decided to withdraw its membership from OPEC effective January 2019," Kaabi said at a Doha press conference.
He added that Qatar would still continue to produce oil but would concentrate on gas production, where it is the biggest exporter of liquified natural gas in the world.
"We don't have great potential [in oil], we are very realistic. Our potential is gas."
Kaabi said that OPEC, which Qatar joined in 1961, was told of the decision on Monday ahead of the announcement.
The organisation is dominated by oil-rich Saudi Arabia, which has led a bloc of countries in imposing a blockade on Qatar.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain started boycotting Qatar last year, accusing Doha of funding militants across the Middle East and fostering ties with Iran, charges that Qatar denies.
US President Donald Trump initially appeared to side with Doha's foes and take responsibility for the blockade.
In June 2017, he accused Qatar of funding "terror at a very high level". But he later called for ending the crisis and praised Qatar for its "counterterrorism" efforts.
In April, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Qatar "would fall in less than a week" if it were not for the US al-Udeid base there.
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