Regional Overview (continued)

Middle East

QATAR

The first train of the RasGas liquefied natural gas facilities at Ras Laffan in Qatar (ExxonMobil interest 26.5 percent) started up in April 1999. A second train is scheduled for start-up in the second quarter of 2000. These trains will supply a total of 4.8 million tons per year to Korea under a 25-year contract. This is in addition to the 6 million tons per year of sales to customers in Japan from Qatargas LNG facilities (ExxonMobil interest 10 percent).

Expansion of facilities in Qatar is providing a very competitive source for sales to traditional LNG markets as well as emerging markets such as India and China. In July, RasGas signed a gas sales agreement to supply India up to 7.5 million tons per year of LNG. In addition to India, RasGas is actively marketing in China, Taiwan, Turkey, Italy, Japan, and Korea. Progress in 1999 included local authority planning approval for a new LNG terminal offshore Italy's Rovigo Province.

Progress continued on upstream agreements and marketing efforts for the Enhanced Gas Utilization project, which would develop natural gas from Qatar's giant North Field for domestic and regional pipeline sales. ExxonMobil continues to evaluate a potential gas-to-liquids project in Qatar.

YEMEN

ExxonMobil net oil production is the third-largest in Yemen. Active discussions are underway for sales of gas from the Yemen LNG project (ExxonMobil interest 14.8 percent) to buyers in India and other markets. This project will involve gross resources of 10 trillion cubic feet of gas, building on ExxonMobil's existing crude production in Yemen.

KUWAIT

ExxonMobil is currently working on an addition to the Joint Technical Study with Kuwait Oil Company and is continuing to position itself for participation in the anticipated opening of the Northern fields.

SAUDI ARABIA

Several interactions with Saudi Arabian officials have centered on potential business opportunities for ExxonMobil in The Kingdom.

ExxonMobil presented a comprehensive investment proposal designed to increase gas use and enhance the value of Saudi Arabia's natural resources. These investment proposals are under review by The Kingdom and further discussions are anticipated.