Doha: QatarEnergy is expected to continue its overseas expansion in coming years. The Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region will remain a key target for QatarEnergy’s international growth strategy, owing to the availability of exploration acreage in key frontier markets, said Fitch Solutions in a report.
The national oil and gas company of Qatar has signed several agreements last year for offshore exploration blocks in several parts of the world.
“QatarEnergy’s international exploration portfolio grew significantly over 2021 and we expect its overseas expansion to continue throughout 2022 and beyond. A bond prospectus released in July 2021 which detailed QE’s plan to spend approximately $59.1bn in capital expenditure over 2021-2025, highlighted increasing the company’s international footprint as a key area of planned spending,” said the report.
For QatarEnergy, the year 2021 was full of achievements and accomplishments. It witnessed several significant developments and announcements during the year. Achievements of the year included announcements like taking final investment decision for developing the North Field East Project (NFE), signing several LNG supply deals and agreements for offshore exploration blocks in several parts of the world.
During the year, QatarEnergy further consolidated its position as trusted supplier of cleaner energy to the world as it signed long term agreement with several countries for the supply of LNG.
QatarEnergy is actively seeking to engage with international oil companies through joint ventures in order to acquire stakes in exploration acreage across the globe and diversify the company’s operations.
In December 2021, QatarEnergy signed agreements with Shell to farm-in to two offshore exploration blocks in Egypt.
Additionally, in October 2021, QatarEnergy signed a farm-in agreement with ExxonMobil Canada for a 40 percent participating interest in licence EL 1165A, marking the company’s first entry into offshore Canada.
The company is targeting exploration and production assets across the Americas, North and Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the Middle East, with much interest directed in acquiring offshore exploration acreage.
“We expect the Sub-Saharan Africa region will remain a key target for QatarEnergy’s international growth strategy, owing to the availability of exploration acreage in key frontier markets. Qatar has displayed a strong interest in markets across Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in South Africa and Namibia,” said the report.
Unfavourable oceanic conditions and ultra-deep-water acreage in both Namibia and South Africa has historically meant exploration is of high-risk, high-cost nature. However, both countries possess substantially underexplored acreage and we expect recent discoveries will help to de-risk future exploration activity in these frontier markets, increasing the appeal for investors like QatarEnergy.
