RIYADH: Qatar’s state-owned oil firm QatarEnergy has inked a deal with global energy giant Shell to acquire a 40 percent working interest in the C-10 block located offshore Mauritania, a press statement said.
It noted that the C-10 block covers a total area of approximately 11,500 square kilometers and is located about 50 kilometers off the coast of Mauritania in water depths of about 50 to 2,000 meters.
While QatarEnergy will hold a 40 percent working interest in the exploration and production agreement, Shell will have a 50 percent interest and Société Mauritanienne des Hydrocarbures the rest 10 percent interest.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to participate in Mauritania’s upstream sector, which further builds on our exploration footprint in Africa, and we look forward to a successful exploration program,” said Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy.
He added: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with our strategic partner Shell and with SMH. We also look forward to collaborating with the Mauritanian government and thank them and our partners for their valuable support and cooperation.”
On March 29, QatarEnergy inked a deal to acquire stakes from ExxonMobil in two Canadian offshore exploration blocks.
In January, the petroleum company also signed an agreement with France’s TotalEnergies and Italy’s Eni to join them in exploring natural gas in Lebanon’s Mediterranean waters.
Iraq’s March oil revenue exceeds $7 billion
Iraq’s March oil revenue was $7.4 billion, with an average price per barrel of $73.37, the oil ministry said.
Iraqi oil exports averaged 3.255 million barrels per day in March, the country’s oil ministry said on Saturday.
Iraq exported 3.295 million bpd the previous month.
Meanwhile, on April 1, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani inaugurated the Karbala oil refinery, which has a production capacity of 140,000 bpd, his office said in a statement on Saturday.
Oil settled up on Friday
Oil prices rose by more than a dollar a barrel on Friday to record their second-straight week of gains, as supplies tightened in some parts of the world and US inflation data indicated price rises were slowing.
For June delivery, the most actively traded Brent futures settled up $1.29, or 1.6 percent, at $79.89 a barrel. Brent futures for May delivery, which expired upon settlement, gained 50 cents, or 0.6 percent, to settle at $79.77 a barrel.
West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery settled higher by $1.30, or 1.8 percent, at $75.67 a barrel, gaining about 9 percent for the week.
(With input from Reuters)
