Royal Dutch Shell has pulled out of gas exploration plans in Qatar’s Block D, after initial drilling at its majority-owned QSD-1 well failed to produce commercial volumes, it announced last week
The major oil and gas company has halted exploration at the 8,089 sq km licence area, but has reportedly said it remains committed to future plans in Qatar.
State-owned Qatar Petroleum, which Shell has worked alongside multiple times, was set to benefit from any resulting gas that was produced from the block.
Qatar is one of the world’s top LNG exporters, and Shell has been heavily involved in the country’s energy sector. It reportedly invested US$20bn into building one of the world’s largest LNG export plants, as well as a gas-to-liquids facility, the Pearl GTL.
The QSD-1 project is 75 per cent owned by Shell and 25 per cent by PetroChina.
