Qatar Petroleum (QP) has further expanded its involvement in deep-water exploration by securing a new deal with France's Total which will see the state-owned Qatari company enter two ultra-deepwater blocks off the coast of Namibia.

QP signed agreements with Total to earn a 30% interest in Block 2913B as well as a 28.33% stake in Block 2912, with an exploration well set be drilled on the former block in the first half of next year.

The two companies in recent months have been expanding their offshore upstream activities as part of QP's drive to expand beyond its home turf of Qatar, where it is the world's largest producer of liquified natural gas.

The Namibian blocks sit adjacent to one another, with Block 2913B covering roughly 8215 square kilometres, with water depths ranging from 2600 to 3300 metres; while Block 2912 covers 7813 kilometres, with depths ranging from 3300 to 3800 metres.

“We are pleased to expand our global exploration activities into Namibia, which further strengthens our presence in Africa,” QP chief executive Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said.

“Working on these prospective frontier blocks with our valuable long-term partner Total will give another boost to our efforts towards implementing our international growth strategy.”

Following the completion of QP’s farm-in, Total will hold a 40% operated interest in Block 2913B, with Impact Oil and Namcor holding 20% and 10%, respectively.

Total will retain a 37.78% operated interest in Block 2912, with Impact on 18.89% and Namcor holding 15%.

The Namibia push follows another recent agreement with Total, which farmed out part of its exploration assets in Guyana to the Qatari giant.

The Guyana assets are close to the prolific ExxonMobil-operated Stabroek block; while a discovery was recently made on Tullow-operated acreage there in which QP is set to become a partner, assuming the deal is completed.

QP in the past two years has expanded its footprint to coveted frontier areas around the globe, picking up assets in the East Mediterranean, Africa, the Middle East and South America.

The long-term objective is to have a diversified exploration portfolio that can help it compete with major international oil companies that are vying to enlist QP as their partner thanks to its deep pockets and role as the world's largest LNG producer.

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