The state owned company, Qatar Petroleum (QP), announced the establishment of Ocean LNG Limited, which is a joint venture (JV) with ExxonMobil. The newly established company’s core business will be marketing future LNG supply portfolio sourced outside of Qatar, reported Natural Gas Intelligence.

QP’s CEO, Saad al-Kaabi , said that the aim of the Ocean LNG company is to pursue market development opportunities in emerging and new markets, according to Reuters. The company branch office will be established in the Qatar Financial Centre in Doha. Furthermore, an affiliate of QP will own 70% of the newly established company, with ExxonMobil at a 30% of stakes.

In June, QP said it would absorb Qatar International Petroleum Marketing Co, known as Tasweeq, to maximize value for QP in an increasingly competitive and demanding market. However, Qatar is cutting costs at state-owned enterprises to contend with low oil and gas prices. This comes as the Gulf country faces increased competition in energy markets from other LNG producers as new projects in the United States and Australia come online in the next few years.