Doha: During the Qatar Economic Forum powered by Bloomberg, a session titled “The New Commodities Supercycle?” recognised the significant contributions of major energy providers such as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.

Robert Friedland, Founder and Executive Co-Chairman of Ivanhoe Mines, emphasised the crucial role of these countries in ensuring a seamless energy transition. He stressed that without their provision of basic energy, any form of energy transition would be impossible.

“What we’re talking about is the critical role Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar are playing in basic energy provision, without that basic energy, we’re not going to be able to make any form of energy transition.”

Friedland also underscored the importance of patient, long-term capital in the mining industry, citing the example of Qatar’s North Field.

This vast resource plays a vital role in providing essential energy resources to keep Europe warm at night. Friedland stressed that developing such fundamental resources takes decades and highlighted the necessity of stable energy provision for global energy transitions.

“Look at the development of the North Field here in Qatar amazing and so essential to keeping Europe warm at night it takes decades to develop this kind of fundamental basic resource and without it we’re really going to face an enormous challenge as a species in the next 10, 20, 30 years.”

The North Field, located on Qatar’s northeast coast, covers an area of over 6,000 square kilometers and holds the title of the largest non-associated natural gas field worldwide.

It boasts recoverable reserves of more than 900 trillion standard cubic feet, equivalent to approximately 10% of the world’s known reserves.

The session was moderated by Erik Schatzker, Editorial Director, Bloomberg New Economy where it discussed the opportunities and risks facing the mining industry.

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