Doha Announces Completion of LNG Merger

Logo of Qatargas is seen outside its building in Doha, Qatar, June 13, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer
Logo of Qatargas is seen outside its building in Doha, Qatar, June 13, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer
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Doha Announces Completion of LNG Merger

Logo of Qatargas is seen outside its building in Doha, Qatar, June 13, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer
Logo of Qatargas is seen outside its building in Doha, Qatar, June 13, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer

Qatar said Wednesday that Qatargas and RasGas had merged in a move aimed at cutting costs and creating a global energy giant in a plan first announced in December 2016.

Qatargas and RasGas, operators of the country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry, were merged under the brand name Qatargas.

"On January 1, we announced the birth of the new Qatargas," the chief executive of national oil company Qatar Petroleum, Saad al-Kaabi, told a press conference.

Kaabi said the merger will save two billion Qatari riyals ($545 million) annually.

He added that Qatar wanted to create a truly unique global energy operator in terms of size, service and reliability.

The conference was attended by senior executives from ExxonMobil, Total, Shell and ConocoPhillips, which are Qatargas' shareholders.

Current Qatargas CEO Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa al-Thani has been appointed as the CEO of the new Qatargas. 



Britain Vows to Toughen Its Trade Defenses Under New Strategy

Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Jonathan Reynolds speaks during Britain's Labour Party annual conference, in Brighton, Britain, September 27, 2021. (Reuters)
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Jonathan Reynolds speaks during Britain's Labour Party annual conference, in Brighton, Britain, September 27, 2021. (Reuters)
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Britain Vows to Toughen Its Trade Defenses Under New Strategy

Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Jonathan Reynolds speaks during Britain's Labour Party annual conference, in Brighton, Britain, September 27, 2021. (Reuters)
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Jonathan Reynolds speaks during Britain's Labour Party annual conference, in Brighton, Britain, September 27, 2021. (Reuters)

Britain said it would toughen up its trade defenses to better protect industries amid a turbulent global outlook of trade wars and tariffs that has shaped its new trade strategy to be published on Thursday.

Britain is set to partially implement a deal to remove some of US President Donald Trump's tariffs, but acknowledged that its trade remedies system needed to be more "agile, assertive, and accountable to guard British businesses against global turbulence".

"The UK is an open trading nation, but we must reconcile this with a new geopolitical reality and work in our own national interest," Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said.

"Our trade strategy will sharpen our trade defense so we can ensure British businesses are protected from harm."

As part of the strategy, the government will reform the Trade Remedies Authority.

UK Steel has said that the TRA's current powers, under which it proposed to cap how much of certain kinds of steel could be imported, needed to be more robust, and welcomed the trade strategy as a "critical turning point".

Britain is aiming to remove US tariffs on steel imports under their agreement, although the implementation of the deal has not been finalized.

The government has stepped in to take control of British Steel, and other industries are also seeking support, with AB Foods extending its deadline for deciding the fate of its Vivergo bioethanol plant to Thursday in the hope of a support package.

The trade strategy is Britain's first since it has had an independent trade policy after leaving the European Union.

The previous Conservative government hailed the opportunities of Brexit as it pursued several free trade agreements.

While the Labor government, which came to power a year ago, has concluded free trade agreement talks with India and is making progress on another with the Gulf Cooperation Council, it said the new strategy would focus on quicker and more practical deals than the previous government did.