Egypt has inked 3 oil and gas exploration agreements of over $121 million with global firms, boosting its energy sector by way of new exploration as well as drilling projects throughout the key hydrocarbon zones.
The move happens to be a part of the strategy of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources to attract international investment and, at the same time, expand exploration activities across the North African country.
The minister of petroleum and mineral resources, Karim Badawi, witnessed the signing of the agreements from the Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. with numerous leading international firms that are active in oil and gas exploration and production.
It is well to be noted that in August 2024, Egypt unleashed a new set of incentives to stimulate exploration along with the development, increase output, and at the same time, decrease the gap between domestic supply and demand.
Over 60 international companies at present operate across 183 explorations as well as production sites all across the Mediterranean Sea, Nile Delta, and, of course, the Western and Eastern Deserts, along with Sinai and Upper Egypt, under the aegis of the companies affiliated with the Ministry of Petroleum.
As per the ministry, the first agreement reassigns the North Sinai offshore area to Perenco Egypt, worth investments of $46 million, so as to drill three wells along with a signing bonus of $1 million.
The agreement was signed by the CEO of EGPC, Salah Abdel Karim, and Perenco’s Raafat El-Beltagy, in the presence of the CEO of Egypt Kuwait Holding Company, Jon Rokk. It also happens to be the parent company of Perenco Egypt.
Apparently, the second agreement covers the East El Hamad area across the Gulf of Suez, favoring Dragon Oil, which is Dubai-based, following its success within the EGPC bidding round.
Investments in terms of drilling three wells amount to $40.5 million all combined, with a signing bonus of $4.5 million. The deal was signed by the chief operating officer of Dragon Oil, Abdel Karim, and Tayeb Huwair and attended by the company’s CEO. Abdulkarim Ahmed Al-Mazmi.
The third agreement happens to be with Apache Corp., which covers the integrated exploration and development area situated in the Western Desert by adding five fresh exploration blocks.
The deal also includes $35 million in investments in terms of drilling 14 wells, with a $25 million signing bonus, and was signed by senior vice president of international assets at Apache, Abdel Karim, and Greg McDaniel.
The statement read that after the signing, Karim Badawi stressed that these agreements go on to show the growing confidence of international companies in the petroleum investment climate of Egypt.
The minister further added the deals underscore the success of the ministry in offering attractive bidding opportunities and, at the same time, implementing incentive policies, which, by the way, have opened new avenues in terms of exploration, supporting the plans of the ministry to increase production and, at the same time, take care of the domestic market needs.
These agreements happen to be a part of a broader push by Egypt so as to attract foreign investment in oil and gas, with the government in the recent past approving $221 million in contracts that cover the Gulf of Suez, the Western Desert, and the North Damietta Marine area across the Mediterranean.
The deals, which include a minimum of 24 wells and a $31.5 million non-refundable signing bonus, go on to reflect the ambition of Egypt to reinforce its position as being a regional energy hub.
Besides this, the recent approvals for Lukoil as well as South Valley Egyptian Petroleum, based in the Eastern Desert, further highlight Egypt’s strategy to widen the exploration and production activities throughout the numerous hydrocarbon zones.
