HE Al-Sada Confirms Economic Feasibility of the Newly Discovered Gas Field

Doha, March 10 (QNA) - HE the Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman and Managing Director of Qatar Petroleum Dr. Mohammad bin Saleh Al-Sada confirmed the economic feasibility of the newly discovered gas field in the area (North 4) within the Qatar's territorial waters, noting that the field contains commercial and "more than reasonable" quantities of gas. In a press statement on Sunday, HE Al-Sada said that the economic life of the new gas field will depend on management and production quantity, adding that production will start within the next few years supported by extensive experience and a modern industrial structure available in Qatar, whether in the offshore or onshore areas in Ras Laffan. He noted that the reserves of the new field amount up to (2.5 trillion cubic feet) according to the international standards, which he stressed represent no comparison with the reserves of the giant North Field which amount up to (900 trillion cubic feet). HE the Minister of Energy and Industry stressed that Qatar Petroleum (QP) is currently looking at the best technical and economic options for the management, noting that its partnership with "Wintershall" and "Mitsui Gas Development Qatar B.V." will develop the new field quickly. The discovery of the new gas field comes after four years of intensive exploration work, including the drilling of exploratory wells, HE the Minister said, noting that the new exploration is one of a series of explorations and production sharing agreements which QP signed with international oil companies to explore for oil and gas resources in Qatar over the past few years. HE the Minister of Energy and Industry expressed pride of the outcomes of the exploration operations in Qatar, both in onshore or offshore, noting that there are five active areas currently being excavated. HE the Minister of Energy and Industry Dr. Mohammad bin Saleh Al-Sada underlined that the new discovery came as a result of QP implementation of HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani's directives to intensify exploration and development of natural resources and increase oil and gas reserves in Qatar. HE Al-Sada also attributed the success to the distinguished cooperation between Qatar Petroleum and its partners in the exploration, Wintershall and Mitsui, saying that the achievements reflect QP commitment to exploit Qatar's natural resources in a sound and prudent way that would contribute significantly to the country's economic growth and prosperity. For his part, Wintershall CEO Rainer Seele said that the company has been conducting exploration operations in Qatar for more than 30 years, expressing pleasure about the results that have been reached in the area (North 4). Qatar Petroleum, on behalf of the Qatari government, had signed with Wintershall an exploration and production sharing agreement in the offshore of the (North 4) area in November 2008 to explore gas. In 2010, Mitsui Gas Development Qatar B.V. joined the agreement by 20 per cent share of the contractor in accordance with the partnership agreement, while Wintershall retained 80 per cent share of the contractor and the operator of the operations. (QNA)