The Japanese company will supply a drilling rig to the Al Shaheen oilfield off the north east coast of Qatar. 

Qatar-based crude oil and natural gas company North Oil Company has awarded a three-year contract to a Japanese offshore drilling rig business.

The Japanese company will supply an offshore drilling rig for at the Al Shaheen oilfield, which is situated off the north east coast of Qatar.

The drilling rig, named Hakuryu-10, is owned by the Japan Drilling Company, which has stated that its new contract with North Oil would start in the second quarter of 2022 in continuation of an existing agreement with the Qatar-based company.

The Japan drilling company also has a second drilling rig, Hakuryu-12, working for North Oil.

North Oil is a joint venture between Total and state-funded Qatar Petroleum (QP) that operates the Al Shaheen field, Qatar’s largest oilfield.

Read also: Top energy firms bid for stake in Qatar’s LNG projects

QP has ramped up efforts to solidify its position as a leading LNG supplier as the Gulf state gears up to return as the largest LNG producer by 2030.

In March, the state owned corporation signed a $1.9 billion LNG deal with Samsung C&T Corporation as part of Qatar’s $28.7 billion North Field Expansion project, the world’s largest LNG project.

The project is set to raise Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77 million metric tons per year to 110 million metric tons per year by 2025.

QP also announced it would become the sole owner of QatarGas from next year.