London

NATURAL gas made Qatar's citizens the richest in the world within a generation. Even with its bigger fuel reserves, Iran will struggle to follow its neighbour's path.

Iran's own production is consumed by a population of 78 million people and an oil industry that injects gas into fields to boost productivity. Qatar, with a population of 2.3 million people, now ranks second only to Russia in gas exports, generating about US$86 billion last year.