Qatar Petroleum Acquires Stakes in Offshore Exploration Blocks in South Africa

Image used for illustrative purpose. Petroleum Production platform in offshore in the oil industry. Getty Images
Image used for illustrative purpose. Petroleum Production platform in offshore in the oil industry. Getty Images
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Qatar Petroleum Acquires Stakes in Offshore Exploration Blocks in South Africa

Image used for illustrative purpose. Petroleum Production platform in offshore in the oil industry. Getty Images
Image used for illustrative purpose. Petroleum Production platform in offshore in the oil industry. Getty Images

Qatar Petroleum made agreements with TotalEnergies to acquire stakes in three offshore exploration blocks in South Africa.

Under the terms of the agreements, which are subject to customary approvals by the government of South Africa, Qatar Petroleum will hold a 25 percent participating interest in the South Outeniqua block, a 30% participating interest in the DWOB block, and a 29.17 percent participating interest in the OBD block.

Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, said, “These acquisitions represent an excellent addition to our South African regional upstream portfolio, and build upon the positive progress following the recent drilling success in the 11B/12B block.”

The South Outeniqua block covers an area of approximately 49,000 square kilometers in water depths ranging between 200 and 5,000 meters.

TotalEnergies is the Operator and holds the remaining participating interest in the block. It is located directly south of the 11B/12B block where TotalEnergies, Qatar Petroleum, Canadian Natural Resources Limited and Main Street Limited have announced significant gas condensate discoveries in the Brulpadda and Luiperd prospects.

The DWOB and OBD blocks cover a combined area of about 53,000 square kilometers in water depths ranging between 1,000 and 4,200 meters and are located in the Orange Basin directly south of Namibian blocks 2912 and 2913B.

The other JV partners in the DWOB block are TotalEnergies (Operator) with a 50 percent participating interest, and Sezigyn with a 20 percent participating interest. In the OBD block the JV partners are TotalEnergies (Operator) with a 48.61 percent, participating interest and Impact with a 22.22 percent participating interest.



Türkiye's Central Bank Lowers Key Interest Rate to 47.5%

A girl sells plastic items to people in the Kadikoy district in Istanbul, Türkiye, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A girl sells plastic items to people in the Kadikoy district in Istanbul, Türkiye, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
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Türkiye's Central Bank Lowers Key Interest Rate to 47.5%

A girl sells plastic items to people in the Kadikoy district in Istanbul, Türkiye, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A girl sells plastic items to people in the Kadikoy district in Istanbul, Türkiye, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Türkiye’s central bank lowered its key interest rate by 2.5 percentage points to 47.5% on Thursday, carrying out its first rate cut in nearly two years as it tries to control soaring inflation.
Citing slowing inflation, the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee said it was reducing its one-week repo rate to 47.5% from the current 50%.
The committee said in a statement that the overall inflation trend was “flat” in November and that indicators suggest it is likely to decline in December, The Associated Press reported.

Demand within the country was slowing, helping to reduce inflation, it said.
Inflation in Türkiye surged in recent years due to declining foreign reserves and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s unconventional economic policy of lowering rates as a way to tame inflation — which he later abandoned.
Inflation stood at 47% in November, after having peaked at 85% in late 2022, although independent economists say the real rate is much higher than the official figures.

Most economists argue that higher interest rates help control inflation, but the Turkish leader had fired central bank governors for failing to fall in line with his previous rate-cutting policies.

Following a return to more conventional policies under a new economic team, the central bank raised interest rates from 8.5% to 50% between May 2023 and March 2024. The bank had kept rates steady at 50% until Thursday's rate cut.
The high inflation has left many households struggling to afford basic goods, such as food and housing.