Gulf Drilling International Limited (GDI) was established in 2004 as the first onshore and offshore oil and gas drilling company in Qatar. GDI was formed as a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum (QP), Qatar’s national oil corporation, and Japan Drilling Co., Ltd. (JDC). In July 2007, QP acquired 25% shares of JDC, raising its ownership in GDI to 70%. In February of 2008, all shares of QP were transferred to Gulf International Services, q.s.c. (GIS) which became a public shareholding company in May 2008 and is listed on the Doha Securities Market.