The first of Qatar’s foreign upstream partners to be thrown off balance by state firm Qatar Petroleum’s (QP) ongoing restructuring plans was Denmark’s Maersk, which stands to lose its operatorship of the al-Shaheen oil field. Now, German firm Wintershall – the upstream subsidiary of chemicals giant BASF – is shutting up shop in the emirate and halting activities in an offshore block after it was denied access to infrastructure.
While the moves by QP to bring in new partners or adopt a higher profile are still in their early stages, further changes have been flagged by a senior Qatari oil official. (CONTINUED - 1147 WORDS)
