The Italian oil major may have hit another find comparable to its giant Zohr field offshore Egypt.

Subsidiaries of CNOOC. Hess Corp. Chevron Corp and Statoil ASA each have a 25-percent stake in the project. while Hess is the operator.

Qatar Petroleum entered into an agreement with Total of France to acquire a 25% participating interest in the Exploration Block 11B 12B.

These two companies will retain a shared 30 percent interest alongside operator ExxonMobil. which has a 35 percent stake.

Chevron'.s downstream segment earned $1.3 billion for the quarter. up from $357 million in the year-ago quarter.

ONGC aims to produce 15 million standard cubic meters a day of gas and 77.000 barrels a day of oil from the block.

Shale gas will only become a leading driver for growth in the longer-term.