ABU DHABI — China and Qatar have signed an agreement for oil and gas exploration
in the Gulf.
The state-owned Qatar Petroleum signed an exploration and production
sharing accord with a subsidiary of China Offshore Oil Corp.
Under the
25-year deal, signed on Aug. 31, QP and CNOOC Middle East would search for
crude oil and natural gas off the coast of Qatar. Qatar has been deemed the
largest supplier of liquefied natural gas to China.
CNOOC said it has allocated $100 million to drill three wells in Qatari
waters. Executives said the program would include technical studies, seismic
tests and drilling at Qatar's Block BC.
Block BC was said to comprise 5,469 square kilometers off the eastern
coast of Qatar. QP plans to sign additional exploration agreements in 2010.
