Qatar Petroleum buys 25% stake in oil and gas concession from Total
The drilling, which was forced to stop temporarily, will resume at the end of 2018 in the Outeniqua Basin, off the southern coast of SA
Qatar Petroleum has bought a 25% interest in an oil and gas exploration concession in the Outeniqua Basin, off the southern coast of SA, from multinational Total, the two companies said in a statement on Monday.The purchase price was not disclosed.Total began drilling for deep-sea oil in this block, called 11B/12B, in 2014, but was forced to stop because it encountered mechanical problems. It said it intended to resume drilling at the end of 2018.Deep-sea oil exploration is very costly and is made even more difficult by strong currents off SA’s coast. Block 11B/12B is about 19,000km² in extent, with water depths ranging from 200m to 1.8km.After this deal receives regulatory approval, the ownership of Block 11B/12B will be 45% Total, 25% Qatar Petroleum, 20% CNR International and 10% Main Street.Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, president and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, said the deal was "an important milestone in our strategy to expand our international upstream footprint".
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