Qatar Petroleum Development Co., Ltd. (Capital: ¥3.1 billion; Head Office: Minato Ward, Tokyo; President: Keiichiro Okabe), subsidiary of Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd. (Capital: ¥62.4 billion; Head Office: Minato Ward, Tokyo; President: Yaichi Kimura), has commenced production of crude oil.
Qatar Petroleum Development Co., Ltd. (QPD) was established in September of 1997 and assigned rights to Area Block1 SouthEast of Qatar based on a Development and Production Sharing Agreement with the Qatar government. After exploration of the area, the company confirmed the presence of crude oil reserves on a commercially viable scale. After trial production, it was decided in June of 2003 to move forward with the full field development, at which time the company began drilling wells and constructing production facilities. The construction works were recently completed and oil began flowing to the export pipeline on March 13 of this year. This oil will be shipped from Halul Island as Qatar marine crude oil, and all of the oil to which QPD has rights will be brought into Cosmo refinery. At the moment, production is planned at 6,000 barrels per day, but after additional development a peak daily output of 10,000 barrels is expected to be achieved as soon as FY2007.
A special characteristic of this project is that for the first time in Qatar's territory, the associated gas produced during crude oil exploitation will not be flared in the air, but will instead be injected underground by "sour gas injection." Developing the field with this method was not a simple matter, but it will now be the most environmentally friendly operation in Qatar. This project will be operated solely by a Japanese company, so it will be an important opportunity for Cosmo Oil Group to utilize the experience, technology, and personnel it has cultivated over the years, and also to strengthen relationships with the countries of the Middle East.
Cosmo Oil Group is making Qatar crude oil development one of its core areas, and will continue to make aggressive investments in this country.
| President | Keiichiro Okabe |
|---|---|
| Capital | ¥3,148,000,000 |
| Shareholders | Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd. (85.8%) and Sojitz Corp. (14.2%) |
