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 five-year agreement, which commenced 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, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs, and 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.”
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 kms 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 mn barrels of crude oil.
Al-Karkara and A-Structures are the first fields in Qatar to achieve zero gas flaring by re-injecting the excess sour gas underground.
