After 57 yrs, Qatar is quitting OPEC in 2019 to focus on natural gas production

Qatar's energy minister announced the nation is ending its 57-year relationship with OPEC.

Qatar said it will leave OPEC next month, a rare example of the toxic politics of the Middle East rupturing a group that had held together for decades through war and sanctions. Qatar, a member since 1961, is leaving to focus on its liquefied natural gas production, Energy Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi told a news conference in Doha on Monday. He didn’t mention the political backdrop to the decision: dire relations with Saudi Arabia, which has led a blockade against his country since 2017; and a rhetorical onslaught from U.S. President Donald Trump against the cartel.
A spokesman for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries declined to comment. Qatar is OPEC’s 11th-biggest oil producer, accounting for less than 2 percent of total output, so its departure may not have a significant impact on discussions this week to cut production in conjunction with allies including Russia.
Yet it sets a troubling precedent for a group that prides itself on putting shared economic interests above external politics.