Egypt signs $42m gas exploration deal

Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced the signing of a new agreement to explore for natural gas in the East Alexandria Offshore area of the Mediterranean, between the state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and Cheiron.

The deal commits Cheiron to a minimum investment of more than $42 million to drill three exploration wells and reprocess seismic data, as part of efforts to assess the area’s potential and find additional gas resources.

Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi Badawi said the new agreements were an important step towards speeding up exploration and allowing partners to start work programmes in new areas, which could lead to new discoveries and add to oil and gas reserves.

He said stepping up exploration, while accelerating the development of discovered fields and getting the most from their production, was central to the ministry’s plan to increase domestic output, meet a larger share of local demand and strengthen energy security in the coming years.

Meanwhile Karim Badawi, Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, met with Abdullah Ateya Al Messabi, CEO of Adnoc Drilling, to discuss strategic partnerships and the company’s participation in Egypt’s expanded onshore and offshore well-drilling programme to support higher oil and gas production.

Adnoc Drilling is part of the Adnoc Group, the UAE’s state-owned energy company, and provides drilling and well-services solutions for onshore and offshore oil and gas operations.

Badawi said increasing drilling activity is a key pillar of the Ministry’s five-year plan to boost domestic crude oil and natural gas production by intensifying exploration, accelerating the development of discoveries, increasing well-drilling rates, and adopting advanced technologies and technical solutions.

WAM