Qatar expects all Gulf energy producers to shut down exports within weeks if the Iran conflict continues and drives oil to $150 a barrel, the country’s Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi has told the Financial Times in an interview, according to Reuters.

“Everybody that has not called for force majeure we expect will do so in the next few days [if] this continues. All exporters in the Gulf region will have to call force majeure,” Kaabi told the FT.

“If this war continues for a few weeks, GDP growth around the world will be impacted,” he said.

“Everybody’s energy price is going to go higher. There will be shortages of some products, and there will be a chain reaction of factories that cannot supply,” Kaabi said.

Kaabi said even if the war ended immediately, it would take Qatar “weeks to months” to return to a normal cycle of deliveries.

He forecast that crude prices could hit $150 a barrel O/R in two to three weeks if ships and tankers were unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Kaabi also expects gas prices to rise to $40 per million British thermal units.

Opinion

Editorial

Centre vs provinces
Updated 10 Jun, 2026

Centre vs provinces

The reason the centre finds itself in this position is rooted in its failure to expand the tax net and boost revenues.
Party in crisis
10 Jun, 2026

Party in crisis

THE young KP chief minister must be starting to realise just how thorny a seat he occupies. There has been a flurry...
Varsity woes
10 Jun, 2026

Varsity woes

FINANCIAL crises affecting public sector universities across Pakistan are now having an impact on academic...
Doctor attacked
09 Jun, 2026

Doctor attacked

AN act of reprehensible violence has shaken the medical community. On Saturday, an employee of the Provincial Civil...
AJK flare-up
Updated 09 Jun, 2026

AJK flare-up

The situation started deteriorating after a trader affiliated with the JAAC was reportedly shot in an altercation with law-enforcers.
Fault lines
09 Jun, 2026

Fault lines

THE April 8 ceasefire that halted hostilities between Israel and Iran has encountered its most serious test yet....