Al-Kaabi: Hormuz ‘cannot be obsolete’ - Semafor

The Strait of Hormuz “cannot be obsolete,” despite the Trump administration’s assertions, Qatar’s energy minister said. Rejecting US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s view that it could become a “worthless piece of water” as alternatives emerge, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi noted the route carries far more than oil and that other goods can’t be moved as efficiently by land or air.

Doha has studied exporting gas via pipeline, but decided against it “based on commercial and technical criteria,” he said at the Qatar Economic Forum. The country plans to expand LNG capacity from 77 million tons per year to 142 million by 2030, and duplicating that infrastructure isn’t feasible.

The expansion could be delayed if equipment can’t reach Qatar through Hormuz, Al-Kaabi said. The first new LNG plant is expected to start operations next year, and facilities damaged in Iranian strikes will take around three years to repair, he added.