(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) HE Minister of Energy and Industry Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada, who is also Chairman and Managing Director of Qatar Petroleum (QP), on Wednesday signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with Yves-Louis Darricarrere, Total's President, Upstream, on the offshore Qatar field of Al Khalij for a further 25 years.
Located about 130 kilometers east of the Qatari coast, Al Khalij field was discovered by Total in 1991 and commenced production in 1997 pursuant to an Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA), which was signed in 1989 and is due to expire in early 2014.
Under the new HOA, QP and Total will have a 60/40 operating interest in the field new joint venture following the expiry of the EPSA, and Total will continue to operate the field.
"We have been working with our long-time partner, Total, on Al Khalij field since its discovery. It has been a mutually beneficial and fruitful partnership.
We are pleased to sign this new agreement to further develop the field, as part of HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani's vision to continue to prudently develop our natural resources and to increase Qatar's hydrocarbon reserves," HE Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada said commenting on the agreement.
The HOA is further evidence of Total's commitment to Qatar, which took a new dimension when the company was one of the first participants in the multi-billion dollar gas projects in Ras Laffan. Total subsequently participated in other large developments in Qatar's refining and petrochemicals sectors as well.
"This new agreement exemplifies the long-standing partnerships forged with the State of Qatar, as it reflects Total's commitment to work hand in hand with QP.
I'm delighted to see Total continuing to be recognized, not only for operational excellence in the energy sector, but also as an active member of Qatar's community and society at large," stated Darricarrere, Total's President - Upstream.
A number of senior officials from QP and Total attended the signing ceremony, which was held at QP headquarters. Qatar Petroleum is a public corporation established by Law number 10 of 1974 and is responsible for all phases of the oil and gas industry in Qatar.
The principal activities of the company and its subsidiaries and joint ventures cover exploration, drilling and production operations, transport, storage, marketing and sale of crude oil, natural gas liquids, liquefied natural gas, refined products, petrochemicals and fertilizers.
Total has been present in Qatar since 1936 and has a 20 % interest in the upstream part of the Qatargas 1 project and a 10% interest in the Qatargas 1 liquefaction plant Joint Venture (JV), a 24.5% stake in the Dolphin Energy Ltd Company and a 16.7 % stake in Qatargas 2 Train 5 JV. Total's Qatari production averaged 155,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2011.
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