Egypt signs agreements to increase oil & gas production

Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi, has signed agreements to boost oil and gas production with Shell Egypt and Cheiron Energy to boost oil and gas production in the Mediterranean and Suez Gulf

The minister, Shell Egypt’s vice president and country chair Dalia El Gabry, and Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) chairman Alaa El Batal have signed an agreement between EGPC, Shell and Malaysia’s Petronas to invest US$222mn in the 10th phase of gas production in the West Delta Deep offshore area to boost production. It will involve the drilling of three wells to produce natural gas and establish marine facilities to bring the wells into production.

Before the signing, Badawi and El Gabry held a meeting where the Minister stressed the government’s commitment to working with Shell, a key player in Egypt’s energy sector, to increase gas production in the Mediterranean, while El-Gabry confirmed Shell’s commitment to Egypt and its plans to invest in new exploration and production projects.

The minister also met with a delegation from Cheiron Energy and signed a US$120mn deal with the company and KUFPEC to boost oil production in the Suez Gulf. The agreement includes drilling nine wells in the Geisum and Tawila West area in the Suez Gulf, including three exploration wells. It is envisaged that the investment will increase oil and gas production in the Gulf of Suez from 21,000 bpd to 26,000 bpd.