Oil industry giants embark on five-year exploration project

A five-year programme of exploration awaits oil industry major players Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina after the pair were awarded the Block D concession in north-eastern Qatar.

The onshore and offshore claim was signed on May 16th and, reports Business Monitor International (BMI), is likely to lead to broader involvement by one or both of the firms in Qatar's oil industry.

More than 8,000 sq km of land and ocean exploration rights are covered by the contract, with PetroChina claiming that the area extends beneath the North Field, the world's largest non-associated gas field off the coast of Qatar.

BMI adds that this is Shell's first exploration in the area and the first move of any kind into Qatar to be made by PetroChina.

The deal was signed in Doha by Shell chief executive officer Peter Voser, PetroChina chief financial officer Zhao Dong and Qatar's deputy prime minister and minister of energy and industry Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah.