The effect of oil and gas on Qatar's economy Research Paper

The effect of oil and gas on Qatar's economy - Research Paper Example The research findings and analysis could be used to determine the influence of the oil and gas sector on the economy of Qatar and the trend of economic performance of the country over the last few decades. Qatar was merely a pearl fishing center until 1940 when the oil and gas fields were explored in the country for production and extraction of oil and natural gas. The oil and gas sector in Qatar is one of the major contributors to the economy of Qatar. The petroleum industry in the oil and gas sector has a share of 60% of the gross domestic product of Qatar. The country earns 85% of its export from the sale of oil and gas extracted in the geographical boundaries of the country. It has been found that the government earns 70% of the total revenues from the oil and gas sector of the country. The oil and gas sector of Qatar has given the country the highest per capita GDP among the nations in the world. Qatar has huge volumes of proven oil and gas reserves amounting to a volume of 15 b illion barrels that is expected to provide a sustainable economic output of the country for the coming 23 years. The natural gas of Qatar amounts to a reserve exceeding 7000 cubic kilometer which forms 5% of the total natural gas reserves in the world. Qatar ranks third in the capacity of natural gas reserves in the world. The economic performance of Qatar over the last decades have been presented below in tabular form in terms of GDP, currency conversion rate with respect to the GDP, inflation index and the per capita income of the country.