Qatar, the world’s leading exporter of liquefied natural gas, is pushing ahead with its multibillion dollar gas projects in spite of the collapse in energy prices and a steep fall in demand, a senior official said on Sunday.

But Faisal al-Suwaidi, chief executive of Qatargas, one of two-state controlled gas companies, said he expected that new gas projects around the world would be put on hold for up to two or three years. This would lead to a “big” supply-demand gap in five years, he said.