Qatar Petroleum entered into an agreement with Eni to acquire a 30% participating interest in the Tarfaya Shallow Exploration Permit, a series of 12 neighbouring offshore blocks along the Atlantic coast off the Kingdom of Morocco.
The agreement is subject to customary regulatory approvals by the government of Morocco. Following such approvals, the partners holding participating interest in the Tarfaya Shallow Exploration Permit will be Eni (Operator) with a 45% participating interest, Qatar Petroleum with a 30% participating interest, and the Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) with the remaining 25% participating interest.
HE Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, said the agreement represents another important milestone in their partnership roadmap with Eni, and further strengthens their distinguished long term relationship with the Kingdom of Morocco.
We hope that the exploration efforts are successful, and we look forward to collaborating with our partners Eni and ONHYM. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Moroccan authorities and our partners, for their support. This opportunity is in line with Qatar Petroleum’s strategy to enter into exploration activities in frontier basins with high hydrocarbon resource potential as we intensify our efforts to expand our portfolio at home and abroad.’
The Tarfaya Shallow Exploration Permit covers a total area of approximately 23,900 km2 in water depths of up to 1,000 metres. The first phase of exploration ending in 2020 will include conducting geological and geophysical studies to further define potential prospects/leads and assess the full potential of the blocks.
Qatar Petroleum also recently entered another deal with Eni to explore a new block in Mozambique. For more information about Qatar Petroleum, visit qp.com.qa.