Egypt, Five Global Firms Agree on Exploration in Mediterranean  

Egypt's Minister of Petroleum Tarek Al-Mulla said that the government has agreed in principle with five major global energy firms to explore for oil and gas in deep waters in its western coast on the Mediterranean.

In press statements to “Sky News” Arabia, Al-Mulla added that the five companies include Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, BP, Total and Exxon Mobil.

Moreover, he added that those companies would start exploratory drillings in the area early 2021.

It is worth mentioning, the discovery of the giant Mediterranean Zohr field off the eastern coasts of Egypt by Italy’s Eni in 2015 sparked renewed interest and investment in Egypt’s energy industry.

The country is trying to position itself as an energy hub in the eastern Mediterranean, importing gas from Israel and exporting to Jordan and potentially to Europe and Asia.

In January, Egypt announced that it had signed two agreements with Exxon Mobil for oil and gas exploration in the Mediterranean.