Qatar: Doha Says Goodbye to OPEC

Qatar's diplomatic drift away from its neighbors continues. New Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi announced Dec. 3 that his country would officially leave OPEC starting Jan. 1, 2019. According to the minister, Qatar will attend upcoming OPEC meetings in Vienna and abide by its commitments, but the country will ultimately leave the bloc to concentrate on its expanding liquefied natural gas (LNG) strategy, albeit while continuing to produce some oil. Al-Kaabi also appeared to issue a parting jab at Saudi Arabia, noting that the oil business was "controlled by an organization managed by a country."...