Qatar Petroleum awards Anadarko Block 4 off Qatar

By OGJ editors

HOUSTON, May 18 -- Anadarko Petroleum Corp. unit Anadarko Qatar Block 4 Co., Doha, has signed a production-sharing agreement with Qatar Petroleum Co. (QP) for oil and gas exploration on QP's Block 4 off Qatar.

The 3,132 sq km contract area is 40 km from northern Qatar and adjacent Anadarko-operated Al Rayyan oil field on Block 12. Anadarko holds 100% interest in the block, which QP says "is situated within some of the world's most prolific petroleum systems [and] has remained relatively unexplored for the last 30 years."

PSA terms call for an initial 5 year exploration phase during which the Anadarko-QP partnership will perform technical studies, seismic reprocessing, acquisition of 2-D and 3-D seismic data, and exploratory drilling.

Other EPSAs
The agreement is one of a series of EPSAs Qatar Petroleum has signed with international oil companies to explore and develop Qatar's oil and gas resources.

Anadarko Qatar Block 4 Co.'s sister company, Anadarko Qatar Energy Co., operates Qatari Al-Rayyan oil field on Block 12 and is conducting exploration on Block 13 under other PSAs.

Anadarko also holds a 49% interest in Block 11, operated by the German company Wintershall AG.

Last month QP awarded an EPSA for the 139 sq km Block 5 extension area to Maersk Oil Qatar AS, which will conduct an extensive exploration program for fast-track development. Maersk operates Al Shaheen field on Block 5, and currently is appraising its development potential.

The EPSAs also have resulted in the discovery, appraisal, development, and production of Al-Khalij field by Total E&P Qatar, and Idd Al-Shargi North Dome and Idd Al-Shargi South Dome fields by Occidental Petroleum of Qatar.

QP also is allocating huge investments to prolong and expand production from Dukhan oil field onshore, and Maydan Mahzam and Bul Hanine oil fields offshore.