Baku, Azerbaijan, June 8
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Qatar is the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, so the Qatar crisis could have a larger impact on the gas market, says an analysis done by the UK-based consulting company Capital Economics.
“Gas supplies from Qatar could potentially be disrupted if the other Gulf countries blocked Qatari tankers traversing the Persian Gulf. But, given that a maritime dispute could block their own oil shipments, this seems highly unlikely,” said the analysis obtained by Trend.
The analysts of Capital Economic suspect that the region’s economies are likely to shrug off the dispute.
“Trade ties between Qatar and the rest of the region are relatively small. Qatar’s exports to the region are limited with most of the country’s oil and gas exports going to Asia. Qatar’s imports from the rest of the region are also trivial,” said the company. “In any case, most are goods that are transited through the other countries, so could be diverted if necessary.”
One potential concern is that Qatari banks may now find it more difficult to secure wholesale financing, which could precipitate a more abrupt cooling of the country’s credit boom, according to the Capital Economics.
The spat began after Qatar’s state-run news agency, QNA, released remarks attributed to ruling Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, in which he criticized other Gulf leaders and called for an easing of tensions with Iran. QNA has denied that the comments were made by the Emir, claiming that they were the result of a cyber attack. But this hasn’t washed with Saudi Arabia and its allies. They argue that the comments highlight Doha’s close ties with Iran and reinforce their long-held concerns over Qatar’s support for terrorism.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Libya, Bahrain, and Maldives have severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of fueling extremism and terrorism.
Qatar says move is "unjustified" and says it carries out its duties in the fight against terrorism.
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Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
