H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada (right), Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman and Managing Director of Qatar Petroleum International, exchanging documents with Andrew P Swiger, Senior Vice President of ExxonMobil Corporation, in the presence of the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani, in Berlin yesterday.
DOHA: Qatar Petroleum International and ExxonMobil yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding that expands their cooperation and seeks to provide for joint activities to evaluate unconventional natural gas resources in North America and certain global liquefied natural gas (LNG) opportunities.
The agreement aims to provide Qatar Petroleum International with potential opportunities to pursue prospects in a broad range of unconventional natural gas resources and associated liquids. No transactions have taken place thus far, and any transactions will be subject to future announcement.
“Over the past two decades, Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil have been working together to develop an unrivaled liquefied natural gas business in Qatar, supplying cleaner-burning natural gas to markets across the globe,” said HE Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman and Managing Director of Qatar Petroleum International. “Now we look forward to a new chapter in our relationship as we commit to exploring opportunities in North America and elsewhere.”
Andrew P Swiger, Senior Vice President of ExxonMobil Corporation said that the new agreement represents a further milestone in the strong and successful relationship between the companies. “This agreement provides a basis for broadening the collaboration and joint investment in natural gas and LNG projects around the world.”
Nasser Al Jaidah, Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Petroleum International, commented that this cooperation with ExxonMobil supports Qatar Petroleum’s intention to expand its international portfolio in order to help meet the growing global demand for energy. “The agreement signed today signifies our joint interest in expanding our partnership both domestically and internationally in order to address the growing and evolving role of natural gas, which continues to play a larger role in meeting the needs of an increasing population.”
Working together, Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil have been developing the world’s largest natural gas field not associated with oil, making Qatar the world’s leading exporter of LNG to markets across the globe. Outside Qatar, the companies currently have joint interests in LNG terminals in the United Kingdom, Italy and the United States. ExxonMobil has a long-standing history in Qatar.
Earlier, Al Sada, who is currently on an official trip to Germany to attend the Business & Investment in Qatar Forum, held discussions with top officials of major oil and gas companies.
Al Sada, held separate meetings with Klaus Schäfer, CEO of E.ON Ruhrgas; John Roper, Head of Middle East of E.ON Ruhrgas; Andrew Swiger, Senior Vice President of ExxonMobil; Bart Cahir, President and General Manager of ExxonMobil Qatar; Nils Andersen, Group CEO of Maersk; Jakob Thomasen, CEO of Maersk Oil; Lewis Affleck, Managing Director of Maersk Oil Qatar; and Sheikh Faisal Al Thani, Deputy Managing Director of Maersk Oil Qatar.
The meetings, which were held at Maritim Hotel in Berlin, were attended by a number of high officials from Qatar Petroleum and Qatar Petroleum International.
The Peninsula
