OREANDA-NEWS. October 16, 2012. Maersk Oil and Qatar Petroleum have produced their billionth barrel at the Al Shaheen field, a phenomenal production landmark, which is even more remarkable considering the field was shunned by oil majors, who thought it was economically unviable.

Maersk Oil and Qatar Petroleum have produced their billionth barrel at the Al Shaheen field, a phenomenal production landmark, which is even more remarkable considering the field was shunned by oil majors, who thought it was economically unviable.

Maersk Oil and Qatar Petroleum have produced their billionth barrel at the Al Shaheen field, a phenomenal production landmark, which is even more remarkable considering the field was shunned by oil majors, who thought it was economically unviable.

The milestone tops eighteen years of multi-billion dollar investments in Qatar, swift implementation of development plans and a world record set for the longest ever horizontal well drilled.

"This is a very difficult reservoir that was thought to be impossible to produce oil from," said Deputy Prime Minister of Qatar, HE Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah. "Original estimates were that the field would produce no more than 50,000 barrels per day, even in the best conditions."

But Maersk Oil applied its expertise in developing marginal reservoirs and today Al Shaheen produces 300,000 barrels a day. Its reservoirs form one third of Qatar's total oil production.

"This is a great accomplishment that emphasises how efficiently this field has been operated and is a fine example of what an international oil company and a national oil company can accomplish when they work together," said Director of Oil and Gas Ventures Qatar Petroleum Saad Al Kaabi.

The billionth barrel was produced as a USD 6 billion five-year upgrade draws to a close. Maersk Oil continued to produce oil during this development phase without compromising on safety, managing a production uptime of 99 percent. Moreover, gas flaring has been reduced to a minimum.

The field development of Al Shaheen included the installation of 15 new platforms, 163 new production and water injection wells and 140,000 tonnes of new facilities.

"Our multi-billion dollar development of Al Shaheen, delivered on time and on budget, showcases our ability to innovate and manage projects. Moreover, our participation in the Qatar Science and Technology Park demonstrates our commitment not only to local oil production, but to the development of the Qatari nation as a whole," said CEO Maersk Oil Jakob Thomason.