DOHA: Qatar has awarded engineering contracts worth $6 billion dollars for the expansion of its offshore Al-Shaheen oilfield, state-owned QatarEnergy said on Wednesday.

The four engineering, installation and procurement contracts will increase production at the field – the country’s largest – by 100,000 barrels per day, according to the firm.

“By awarding these contracts, we are taking an important step towards realising the full potential of Al-Shaheen field, which produces around half of Qatar’s crude oil today,”, said Energy Minister Saad Al-Kaabi, who is also QatarEnergy CEO.

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Al-Shaheen, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) off Qatar’s northeastern coast, currently produces 300,000 barrels per day and is operated through the North Oil Company, a joint venture between QatarEnergy and France’s TotalEnergies which holds a 30 percent stake.

“I would like to thank North Oil Company and our longtime strategic partner TotalEnergies for their great efforts towards unlocking the true potential of Qatar’s hydrocarbon resources,” Kaabi said in a statement.

The engineering contracts were awarded to South Korea’s Hyundai, the China Offshore Oil Engineering Co, Indian multinational Larsen & Toubro and a consortium of US contractor McDermott and Qingdao McDermott Wuchuan Offshore Engineering.

QatarEnergy said the third phase of expansion at Al-Shaheen, which began production in 1994, will be implemented over five years with the first oil expected in 2027. It will develop more than 550 million barrels of oil, the firm said.

The project includes the drilling of more than 200 wells and installation of nine remote wellhead platforms and pipelines.