It has been announced that the chairman of Qatar Petroleum (QP), Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry Abdulla bin Hamad Al Attiyah has been appointed as Chairman of the Emiri Diwan as part of Emiri decision number 2 of 2011. Â
Whilst he will retain his role as Deputy Premier, it is not clear how this latest appointment may affect his role as chairman of QP or if indeed he will still be heading up the national oil and gas company. No reason has been given for the move.
In a separate Emiri Decree (No. 3 of 2011) today, Mohammed Saleh Al Sada has been appointed Minister of Energy and Industry. Al Saleh was sworn in, in front of HH the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani following the issuing of the Emiri decision to appoint him.
Earlier this month it was announced that QP awarded an US$8.6 billion contract to ExxonMobil to develop the Barzan gas field off the coast of Qatar to help it meet its rising domestic demand.