Qatar's energy minister warns that war will force Gulf countries to stop exporting energy within weeks.

In an interview published by the Financial Times on Friday, Qatar's Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said that the country expects all Gulf energy producers to stop exports in a few weeks and drive oil prices up to $150 per barrel.

We expect that everyone who hasn't called force majeure will do so in the next few days if this situation continues. Kaabi told FT that all exporters from the Gulf region would have to declare force majeure.

Kaabi stated that even if the war ended immediately, it would still take Qatar "weeks or months" to get back to normal deliveries.

Qatar stopped its production of natural gas liquefied on Monday as Iran continued to attack Gulf countries in response to Israeli and U.S. strikes. The country's LNG is about 20% of the global supply, and it plays a key role in balancing demand on both Asian -and European - markets for this fuel.

Kaabi, a journalist for the newspaper, said that while there was 'no damage done to Qatar's offshore operations, the aftermath onshore is still being examined. (Reporting by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

(source: Reuters)