Middle East

Qatar Petroleum buys stake in Exxon’s Argentina shale assets

President and Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Petroleum Saad Sherida al-Kaabi (AFP/file photo)

Qatar Petroleum (QP) signed an agreement on Sunday with Exxon Mobil to acquire a 30 percent stake in two of Exxons affiliates in Argentina, giving QP access to oil and gas shale assets in the Latin American country.

The deal would give QP, the worlds biggest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG), a 30 percent share in two of Exxons local affiliates in Argentina – ExxonMobil Exploration Argentina and Mobil Argentina, which holds rights with other partners for seven blocks, QP said in a statement.

The blocks are under “unconventional exploration licenses with active drilling plans as well as exploitation licenses with pilot drilling and production,” QP said.

The deal between QP and Exxon comes as the worlds largest publicly traded oil producer looks to rapidly expand its upstream operations under Chief Executive Darren Woods, who inherited a portfolio with relatively few international growth operations compared to peers.

#QP acquires 30% stake in 2 #ExxonMobil affiliates#QatarPetroleum #investment #energy https://t.co/rmoBatzKU7 pic.twitter.com/G3EDVpaA38

— Gulf-Times (@GulfTimes_QATAR) June 3, 2018

No value was given for the agreements.

The deal, QP's first in Argentina, was formally signed at a ceremony in a five-star Doha hotel by officials of both companies.

"We are happy to reach agreement with Exxon, a strategic partner with which we have a long history," said Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, president and CEO of QP.

For QP, the deal offers a chance to invest for the first time in a sizeable shale operation while avoiding the public relations difficulties that would have likely arisen had it invested in shale operations in the United States, where public sentiment still sees Qatar and other OPEC member nations as economic competitors.

It also comes at a time when Dohas Gulf neighbours – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, along with Egypt – are imposing a year-long political and economic boycott on Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism, which Doha denies.

The deal with Exxon appears to be a show of strength by QP as the boycott continues.

“I would like to stress that our oil and gas sector has not been impacted by the blockade, nor has our previously planned expansion,” QPs Kaabi said in a statement.

Original Article

[contf]
[contfnew]

middle east eye

[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]

Related Articles

Middle East

Israel PM ‘flew to Saudi Arabia for secret talks with crown prince’

bbc– Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly flew to Saudi Arabia on...

Middle East

Lebanon’s unfinished revolution: One year after protests, change has yet to come

Issued on: 21/10/2020 – 12:18Modified: 21/10/2020 – 14:28 It's been one year...

Middle East

Israel lauds UAE delegation visit as ‘making history’, Palestinians deem it ‘shameful’

Issued on: 20/10/2020 – 14:27 In an historic first visit by a...

Middle East

Iran rules out weapons ‘buying spree’ as UN embargo is set to expire

Issued on: 18/10/2020 – 07:42 Iran said it was self-reliant in its...