There is an oil field in Qatar that is considered the largest offshore field in the world and it needs a new operator. It is called the Al Shaheen field and the bids have been flying in from the usual suspects, BP, Shell, Maersk Oil (who ran the field for 25 years), Total and a whole bunch of others. The oil field is 50 miles long and produces 300,000 barrels per day, according to Reuters. Most of the companies denied to comment on their bids, but whoever is successful in their bid will be in charge of upping the BPD (barrels per day) to 500,000. A lot of companies who are trying to convince the world that they are committed to cutting carbon emissions are bidding billions for the Qatari oil field, making analysts scratch their heads.
Chevron also got involved in the bidding, unsurprisingly, due to their shareholders who said they would not be slowing down on bids for oil. The entity that decides who wins, however, is Qatar Petroleum.
Robin Mills, chief executive officer of consultants Qamar Energy, said: "Big assets like this in the Middle East only come on the block quite rarely. Qatar is looking for enhanced oil recovery experience, and applying that economically at the moment would be challenging. It will take a good operator to be able to do that." Petroleum engineers, there might be some jobs in the industry opening up for you.
Allegedly, if Maersk's contract does not get renewed through this bidding war, it could be a major blow to the company who has been controlling the oilfield for quite some time now.
It is a well-known fact that Qatar has become the leader in producing liquefied natural gas and oil in the last 30 years. The oil minister for the country also has his seat as President of OPEC. The sale of the oil will be a big benefit to the company that gets it, however, with more pressure to cut down on fossil fuels, it could be a burden to them in the distant future.
