Major oil companies lend expertise

Qatar’s irrefutable success at oil and gas development is due in large part to the participation of major international oil companies in the sector. Two such players are Chevron Corporation and Occidental Petroleum, or OXY.

In 1996, Chevron signed an exploration agreement with Qatar, marking its entrance for the first time in this country. Just a few years later, Chevron expanded into petrochemicals, partnering with ConocoPhillips to form Chevron Phillips and jointly develop the Q-Chem I facility with Qatar Petroleum (QP) in Mesaieed Industrial City, and later Q-Chem II at Ras Laffan.

Qatar has been good to Chevron. According to Evaluate Energy, thanks to its expansion plans, especially in the Middle Eastern state, Chevron’s equity stake in additional LNG capacity between now and 2020 totals 17 million tons, ranking it as the fastest growing LNG producer worldwide.

Chevron’s investments also go beyond oil and gas exploration and production. In early 2009, the company earmarked $20 million over five years to form a partnership with the Qatar Science and Technology Park in Doha and establish a center of excellence in renewable power and energy efficiency. Also, collaborating with GreenGulf, a local renewable energy company, Chevron is testing solar energy technologies and their application in Qatar.

OXY, the second largest oil producer in both Oman and offshore Qatar, is a partner in the Dolphin Project, the first cross-border natural gas pipeline in the Persian Gulf which supplies natural gas from Ras Laffan to markets in Oman and the UAE. Furthermore, OXY has worked closely with QP for more than 15 years to develop and operate offshore oil fields, including Idd El Shargi North Dome, Idd El Shargi South Dome, and Al Rayyan.