In December 2005, Maersk Oil Qatar and Qatar Petroleum agreed on a plan for further development of the Al Shaheen Field offshore Qatar. The 2005 Field Development Plan (2005 FDP) comprises drilling of more than 160 additional production and water injection wells during a 6-year period from 2006, as well as establishment of three additional offshore platform locations with production and accommodation facilities - 15 new platforms in total - interconnected by sub sea pipelines. The Al Shaheen Field production is planned to be gradually increased from 240,000 in the first quarter of 2006 to a plateau level of 525,000 barrels/day from late 2009. As part of the 2005 FDP, Maersk Oil Qatar will also build and operate additional facilities for gathering and delivery of associated gas to Qatar Petroleum for utilization at their onshore plants.

The history prior to the 2005 Field Development Plan is summarised below.

In 1992, Maersk Oil entered into an Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement with Qatar Petroleum on behalf of the Government of Qatar. Under the agreement, Maersk Oil would evaluate the possibilities of establishing commercial oil production from Block 5 - an area of originally 3,500 square kilometres offshore Qatar. The exploration and exploitation rights include all Block 5 geological formations above the Khuff Formation, which contains the "North Field", the world’s largest non-associated natural gas field.

In 2004 Maersk Oil entered into an Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement for Block 5 Extension Area, applicable for the reservoirs in Block 5, covering an area of 139 square kilometres north of Block 5.