Offshore staff

DOHA, Qatar -- ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM) obtains a 10% equity stake in Qatar's Barzan gas field development, the country's energy minister said Thursday.

"Exxon has a 10% stake" in the field, Qatar Energy Minister Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah told Dow Jones Newswires by phone. "We signed it two days ago."

Exxon was offered to participate in the development of the Barzan field after the U.S. oil company and its partner state-run Qatar Petroleum decided to abandon a gas-to-liquids, or GTL, project earlier this week.

Exxon and Qatar Petroleum hadn't revealed the U.S. oil company's share in the gas field development in a statement released Tuesday.

2/23/07