Total Takes Over Stake in Qatar Oil Field
Total and Qatar Petroleum have entered into an agreement to develop Qatar's offshore Al-Shaheen oil field for the next 25 years.
The joint venture, named the North Oil Company, was formally inaugurated on Tuesday. The company was established a year ago as a partnership between Total (30 percent) and Qatar Petroleum (70 percent). Total takes over exploration of the field from Maersk Oil.
The Al-Shaheen field produces around 300,000 barrels of oil per day. Located in Qatari waters 80 kilometers North of Ras Laffan, the Al-Shaheen field began production in 1994. The existing development consists of 30 platforms and 300 wells, and production from the field represents about half of Qatar’s oil production.
The first phase of the development plan of Al Shaheen, consisting of the drilling of 56 new wells, will start this summer with the mobilization of the first two rigs, with a third one to be added at the beginning of next year. This first phase will be followed by two others over the next five years to further develop the field.
Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total, said. “Total is fully committed to the development of its partnership with Qatar Petroleum both in Qatar and internationally and is willing to further expand its cooperation in particular with new projects in Qatar.”
Qatar is the world's largest liquefied gas exporter. It shares a vast underwater gas field with Iran, which last week signed a $5 billion agreement with Total to develop a portion of its side of the field.
Present in Qatar since 1936, Total already holds along with its partner Qatar Petroleum, a 20 percent interest in the upstream part of Qatargas 1, a 10 percent interest in the Qatargas 1 liquefaction plant joint venture, a 16.7 percent stake in the Qatargas 2 train 5 joint venture, a 40 percent interest in Al-Khalij offshore oil field producing 20,000 barrels per day. Total also holds a 24.5 percent stake in the Dolphin Energy Ltd Company. Total’s Qatari production averaged 134,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2016.
Total is also a partner in the Ras Laffan Refinery with a 10 percent interest and in the Qapco (20 percent) and Qatofin (48.6 percent) petrochemical plants. Total’s strategic partnership with Qatar extends outside the country. In Africa, Qatar Petroleum International holds a 15 percent stake in Total E&P Congo. In Pakistan, Qatar petroleum and Total currently work on a liquefied natural gas import project that includes a FSRU, alongside other partners.