WASHINGTON — Qatar is known as a global oil and gas powerhouse, and that’s not changing. The world’s third-largest LNG exporter plans to roughly double production capacity by 2030, with a boost from the Al-Shaheen oil field and the massive North Field gas project driving a projected 19% boost in energy output.

Qatar’s energy sector is the bedrock of its “National Vision 2030,” but the sector is more of a starting point than a finish line in its long-term economic plans, with the Gulf state seeking to leverage its fossil fuel riches to power up technology as a new growth driver.  

The country’s bold diversification strategy over the next five years, which focuses on "responsible exploitation" of energy resources, also includes a detailed path to a digital future, emphasizing innovation and technology, building on Qatar’s success in energy and logistics, and leveraging its geostrategic location as a trade, education and investment hub between the East and the West.

“We have the digital roadmap,” said Sheikha Mayes Al Thani, managing director for the US-Qatar Business Council (USQBC), “backed by government investments and incentives toward global and technological partnerships to make it a reality.”