Qatar registered a budget deficit of 10.3 billion riyals ($2.83 billion) during the first quarter of 2026, driven primarily by a sharp decline in hydrocarbon earnings. According to the finance ministry, oil and gas revenues dropped to 32.7 billion riyals for the quarter, down from 42.5 billion riyals in the same period last year. This contraction caused total state revenue to plunge 23.5% year-on-year to 37.8 billion riyals, while total government expenditure saw a more modest decline of 3.7%, dropping to 48.1 billion riyals compared to the first quarter of 2025.
The fiscal strain comes as Qatar, the world’s second-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), navigates severe infrastructure disruptions. Recent Iranian military attacks successfully knocked out 17% of the country’s LNG export capacity. Industry assessments indicate that repairing the damage will keep 12.8 million metric tons per year of production capacity offline for the next three to five years, clouding Qatar’s medium-term economic and fiscal outlook.
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