Qatar Petroleum (QP) is looking to invest at least 20 billion U.S. dollars in the United States over the coming few years, its chief executive told Reuters, after the Gulf Arab state unexpectedly quit OPEC this month.

Saad al-Kaabi, who holds the energy portfolio of the world's top liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplier, also said on Sunday QP aimed to announce its foreign partners for the new LNG trains it is building by the middle of next year, and the company has decided to self-finance the expansion rather than borrowing.

“We are looking at many assets in the U.S. We're looking at gas and oil, conventional and non-conventional,” Kaabi said in an interview at his office in Doha.

QP currently pumps 4.8 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) and aims to boost its output to 6.5 million boed in the next 8 years by expanding its upstream business abroad.

Kaabi said he expected to make a final decision on the investment and whether to move ahead with the project “by the end of the year, if not January.”