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Who Is Saad Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s Energy Minister?

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Last updated: October 2, 2026

Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi is Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs and the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, the state-owned corporation that controls nearly all of Qatar’s oil and gas resources. Holding both the country’s top energy-policy post and the leadership of its national energy company, Al-Kaabi has been one of the most prominent voices directing the long-running expansion of Qatar’s LNG export capacity.

Who Is Saad Al-Kaabi?

Saad bin Sherida Al-Kaabi (Arabic: سعد بن شريدة الكعبي) is a Qatari petroleum engineer and government minister. He has spent his entire career inside Qatar’s state energy company, rising from an engineering trainee to its chief executive, and has concurrently served as the country’s energy minister since 2018.

Current Role

Minister of State for Energy Affairs	State of Qatar, since November 2018
President & CEO	QatarEnergy, since 2014
Deputy Chairman	QatarEnergy, since November 2018
Chairman	Industries Qatar (IQ), the listed holding company for Qatar’s petrochemicals, steel and fertiliser interests

Education

Al-Kaabi studied at Pennsylvania State University in the United States, joining the university in 1986 and graduating in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering.

Career

Al-Kaabi’s relationship with Qatar’s state energy company began in 1986, while he was still a university student. After graduating in 1991, he joined what was then the Qatar General Petroleum Corporation’s Reservoir and Field Development Department, holding a series of technical, commercial and supervisory petroleum-engineering roles over the following two decades. He went on to become Manager of Gas Development, with direct responsibility for management of the North Field — the gas reservoir that underpins virtually all of Qatar’s LNG business.

From 2006 to 2014, Al-Kaabi served as Director of the company’s Oil & Gas Ventures Directorate, overseeing all of Qatar’s domestic oil and gas field developments as well as its exploration activity. In September 2014 he was named Managing Director, and shortly after, President and Chief Executive Officer of the company (then named Qatar Petroleum, later renamed QatarEnergy in October 2021). In November 2018, in addition to his corporate role, he was appointed Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs and Deputy Chairman of the company.

Al-Kaabi has been a visible figure in global gas diplomacy, including during the 2022 European energy crisis, when he engaged directly with German officials and European Commission counterparts over long-term LNG supply. He was named Energy Intelligence’s Energy Executive of the Year for 2022 and has repeatedly featured on regional rankings of the Middle East’s most influential energy executives.

Energy-Sector Role

As both minister and CEO, Al-Kaabi sets Qatar’s national energy policy while simultaneously running the commercial entity that executes it — a dual role that gives him direct authority over the pace and scale of Qatar’s LNG expansion, its international upstream and LNG investments (including the Golden Pass LNG project in the United States with ExxonMobil), and the country’s petrochemical and fertiliser sector through his chairmanship of Industries Qatar.

Companies & Projects

QatarEnergy — Qatar’s state energy company; see What Is QatarEnergy?
QatarEnergy LNG — the subsidiary operating all 14 LNG trains at Ras Laffan.
North Field East, North Field South and North Field West — the sequence of LNG expansion projects Al-Kaabi has overseen, aimed at raising Qatar’s LNG capacity from 77 mtpa toward a stated target well above 100 mtpa by the end of the decade.
Golden Pass LNG (Texas, United States) — QatarEnergy’s 70%-owned joint venture with ExxonMobil, which shipped its first LNG export cargo in April 2026.
Industries Qatar (IQ) — listed holding company for petrochemicals, steel and fertiliser businesses, which Al-Kaabi chairs.

Timeline

Year	Milestone
1986	Begins studying Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering at Pennsylvania State University; joins Qatar’s state energy company
1991	Graduates with a B.S. in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering; joins the Reservoir & Field Development Department
2006–2014	Director, Oil & Gas Ventures Directorate, overseeing Qatar’s domestic field developments and exploration
September 2014	Appointed Managing Director; subsequently President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum (now QatarEnergy)
November 2018	Appointed Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs and Deputy Chairman of QatarEnergy
2022	Named Energy Intelligence’s Energy Executive of the Year
2026	Oversees Golden Pass LNG’s first export cargo and announces the North Field West expansion phase

QatarEnergy — the company Al-Kaabi leads as President & CEO
LNG (liquefied natural gas) — the business at the center of Al-Kaabi’s energy strategy
ExxonMobil — QatarEnergy’s partner in the Golden Pass LNG project
OPEC — Qatar withdrew from OPEC in 2019 but remains a major gas-exporting counterpart to the organisation’s oil producers

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Saad Al-Kaabi?

Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi is Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs (since November 2018) and President & CEO of QatarEnergy (since 2014), making him the country’s top energy policymaker and the head of its national energy company at the same time.

What is Saad Al-Kaabi’s educational background?

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering from Pennsylvania State University, which he earned in 1991.

How long has Saad Al-Kaabi led QatarEnergy?

He has served as President and CEO since 2014, after joining the company’s predecessor organisations in 1986 and rising through engineering, commercial and directorship roles.