Qatar Leaving OPEC Shows The Drastically Diminished Power Of The Saudis

Qatar is a relatively small oil exporter as far as OPEC nations go, but by leaving the group they are sending a very strong message. Historically Qatar and UAE were very close to Saudi Arabia, but both have taken strides to change this, especially Qatar.

Qatar has been publicly sparring with the Saudis for over a year now, and that is virtually unprecedented. One of the reasons that Qatar is confident enough to leave the oil bloc is that natural gas, and not oil is thier major source of export wealth. This puts Qatar in a very unique spot. It also contributed to the nation being chosen to host the next FIFA World Cup.

Doha is also the headquarters of Al Jazeera, and is quickly becoming a modern metropolis. The fact that they are carving their own path will be very intriguing to follow in the upcoming years. They will continue to be extremely wealthy for the foreseeable future, and hopefully thier questionable human rights issues will also dramatically improve as well. Qatar has great potential, and the more modernizationits ruling class adopts, the better it will be for everyone.