Qatari state-owned petroleum company, QatarEnergy and US-based ExxonMobil have secured a key exploration of an offshore block offered by the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada.

The Parcel 8 of the Orphan Basin winning bid by QatarEnergy, a 30 percent working interest, and ExxonMobil, the operator with a 70 percent working interest, was announced by the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board ‘C-NLOPB’ as part of the 2022 Newfoundland and Labrador Call For Bids NL22-CFB01.

Located offshore Eastern Canada, Parcel 8 lies in water depths of 2,500 to 3,000 meters and covers an area of approximately 2,700 square kilometers. Entry to the Parcel 8 license is subject to customary government approvals.

Last year, QatarEnergy signed a deal with ExxonMobil for a separate exploration license offshore Newfoundland & Labrador, dubbed Block EL 1165A. QatarEnergy holds a 40 percent participating interest in Block EL 1165A, while the remaining 60 percent stake is held by ExxonMobil’s Canada unit.

Recently, QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil agreed to independently offtake and market their respective proportionate equity shares of LNG produced by the Golden Pass LNG Export Project in the US.