TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA

QNB GROUP has updated its forecasts for the Qatari economy for the period 2012-13, based on the recent release of full year 2011 GDP data by Qatar Statistics Authority.

The update includes various oil price scenarios. Nominal GDP is forecast to surge by 19.8 percent in 2012 and rise by a further 5.4 percent in 2013 to QR798bn as the non-hydrocarbons sector takes over from hydrocarbons sector as the main driver of growth.

The baseline forecasts assume that oil prices will average $120 per barrel in both 2012 and 2013.

Qatari crude oil prices have averaged $119/barrel for the first quarter of 2012, with an average of $125/barrel in March 2012.

Given recent oil price volatility, it is important to consider the impact on our forecasts of various oil price scenarios. If the oil price in 2013 were to fall below to $110/barrel, then GDP would contract by 1.3 percent. Conversely, if oil prices rose from $120/barrel in 2012 to $130/barrel in 2013, then Qatar’s nominal GDP would grow by about 12.2 percent, more than double the baseline growth forecast, which assumes prices average $120/barrel in 2012-13.

In its baseline scenario, QNB Group expects that hydrocarbon GDP will represent 59 percent of total GDP in 2012, compared to 58 percent in 2011 due to higher prices and increases in output. In 2013, the share of hydrocarbon GDP will fall back to 58 percent as QNB Group expects hydrocarbon prices and production to level off while the non-hydrocarbon sector grows strongly.

For the hydrocarbons sector, 2012 will be first full year for the production of Liquefied natural Gas (LNG) at the maximum capacity of 77m tonnes. This represents a 16 percent increase in production over 2011. A major new gas-to-liquids (GTL) facility Pearl GTL project will also have its first full year at new capacity in 2012 at an average of 139,000 barrels/day, leading to a 126 percent increase in output, followed by a further 25 percent increase in 2013.

The increase in gas production to feed LNG trains and the GTL plant will lead to a 24 percent increase in the production of condensates to an average of 805,000 barrels/day in 2012-13. Condensates are a highquality hydrocarbon that are associated with the production of natural gas and become liquid at surface pressures.