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| James Mulva |
ConocoPhillips continues to see Qatar as an “attractive place” to invest, and is “actively looking” at opportunities in the country, said Chairman & CEO James Mulva.
“We have been active partners to Qatar and Qatar Petroleum for decades in developing the energy industry in the state. We hope to continue to do so in future’, Mulva told Gulf Times yesterday.
ConocoPhillips has “successfully invested” billions of dollars in liquefied natural gas and petrochemical projects in Qatar.
ConocoPhillips has collaborated with Qatar Petroleum since 1997 with the establishment of the Q Chem I joint venture. ConocoPhillips has since participated with Qatar in the Q Chem II and RLOC petrochemical ventures through its 50% ownership in ChevronPhillips Chemicals.
ConocoPhillips’ upstream collaboration (with Qatar) has been active since 2003 through the development of Qatargas 3, a large-scale LNG project at Ras Laffan with a capacity of 7.8mn tonnes per year (tpy). It is also a shareholder in the Qatargas 4, a project with a similar capacity.
Asked whether ConocoPhillips’ further investments in Qatar would depend on North Field development, Mulva said, “Qatar is very wisely monitoring the health of its most significant oil and gas asset, the North Field. Understanding the production characteristics, the pressure history and how all of the wells are interacting is vital to maximising its resources. This will obviously impact Qatar’s future development.”
On the importance of the World Petroleum Congress of which ConocoPhillips is the Platinum Sponsor, Mulva said it is an important forum for airing a wide range of technical, economic, environmental and social issues among members in the petroleum industry as well as other stakeholders.
“A dialogue between producers and consumers is particularly important to avoid any miscommunications or policy missteps that could prevent the timely addition of petroleum supplies to satisfy global demand. Producers won’t invest in new supplies unless they believe they will be utilised. My remarks at this Congress were intended to ensure that consuming country policymakers don’t overlook natural gas as a fuel that can help meet their energy security and environmental goals at the lowest possible cost.”
On the need for a producer – consumer dialogue and trust in the overall interest of the global economy, the ConocoPhillips Chairman & CEO said, “That is really the point for everyone who participates in the World Petroleum Congresses -- to talk about… advancing energy development with a mind to economic, environmental and social benefits and acknowledge the policies that hinder our ability to achieve that goal.”
