By Pratap John/Chief Business Reporter
Maersk Oil sees a “great potential” and “exciting future” for Al Shaheen oilfield, which it has developed in association with Qatar Petroleum, where more than 330 wells have already been drilled, and some 33 offshore platforms installed.
In association with QP, Maersk Oil has produced 1.5bn barrels of oil from the “highly complex” Al Shaheen over more than 20 years of operation in Qatar, said Graham Talbot, Maersk Oil chief financial officer. “Our technical achievements in Al Shaheen are nothing short of astonishing,” Talbot said.
Working in partnership with QP, Maersk has developed an “unparalleled knowledge and experience” of this unique field. Stretching across, 2,200 sq km, with seven thin reservoirs stacked on top of each other, producing oil with a wide range of properties, from complex geological formations, Al Shaheen is, in effect, like 20 individual fields.
“Each requires a tailored approach,” he said in an interview with Gulf Times.
Talbot said Al Shaheen currently produces around 300,000 bpd, making it the largest offshore oilfield in Qatar.
“In doing so, we have overcome many technical challenges; for example, drilling some of the world’s longest horizontal wells, implementing one of the world’s largest offshore waterfloods, which currently injects more than 800,000 barrels of water per day into the Al Shaheen reservoirs, and applying enhanced oil recovery techniques. We have already drilled over 330 wells and installed 33 offshore platforms, and have ambitious plans to continue to unlock value from the field in future,” Talbot said.
He said Maersk Oil strongly believes that Al Shaheen has “great potential and an exciting future.”
Talbot said, “That is why we are creating a world-class development for the field which presents a highly attractive value proposition for Qatar. Our unique understanding of the sub-surface environment at Al Shaheen means we can continue to deliver outstanding results.”
On Maersk Oil’s relationship with QP, he said, “Our relationship goes back over two decades when Maersk Oil took on the responsibility of managing the complex Al Shaheen field at a time when other international oil companies considered that it was an uneconomic field.
“Since then, in partnership with Qatar Petroleum, Maersk Oil has been successfully operating Qatar’s largest, most complex offshore oilfield, which contributes around 40% of the country’s daily oil production. Together, we know the field better than anyone else and together we can deliver the full potential of Al Shaheen and make a substantial contribution to achieving the Qatar National Vision.”
