QatarEnergy and Japan’s Qatar Petroleum Development Company (QPD) have signed a new agreement for the continued development and production of the Al-Karkara and A-Structures oil fields, located in the territorial waters of the State of Qatar.

This new 5-year agreement, which commences on 23 December 2022, succeeds the development and production sharing agreement signed in December 1997. Under the new agreement, QPD, which is owned by Cosmo E&P and Sojitz, will continue to act as the operator of the oil fields.

Commenting on this occasion, His Excellency Mr. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, said: “We are pleased to continue our partnership with Qatar Petroleum Development Company (Japan) and to work together to continue the development and production of the Al-Karkara and A-Structures fields.”

His Excellency Minister Al-Kaabi added: “We look forward to the next five years of cooperation with QPD, whose successful efforts have unlocked the capabilities of these relatively small fields and added value to our partnership.”

Al-Karkara and A-Structures are offshore fields located about 90 kilometers to the east of Doha and consist of three small fields: Al-Karkara, which was discovered in 1988, and the A-Structures (A-North and A-South), which were discovered in 1971. The fields were initially considered non-commercial until QPD managed to prove their commercial viability in the late 1990s. The fields started production in March 2006, and since then have produced a total of 33.5 million barrels of crude oil.

Al-Karkara and A-Structures are the first fields in the State of Qatar to achieve zero gas flaring by re-injecting the excess sour gas underground.

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