Egypt Signs 12 Agreements for Gas, Oil Exploration Worth $1 Bln

Egypt signed 12 agreements with major international companies for oil and gas exploration in the eastern and western Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Western Desert with a minimum investment of above $1 billion, according to Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tariq al-Mulla.

Al-Mulla added that the new agreements that will be ratified by the cabinet are a testament to the success achieved by the Egyptian oil sector. The Petroleum sector attracted major companies such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron to work in the oil exploration sector in Egypt for the first time.

The 12 agreements have been signed with giant oil and gas companies such as American companies Chevron & Noble, Italian Edison, British BP, France's Total, Royal Dutch Shell, the UAE’s Mubadala and the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC).

Egyptian Gas & Oil companies involved in the agreements

Up to 8 agreements were signed with the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) for exploration in the Mediterranean, three agreements with Ganoub El-Wadi Petroleum Holding for exploration in the Red Sea, and one agreement with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) for exploration in the Western Desert.

The total agreements include the drilling of 21 wells with an investment of no less than $1 billion and bonus signature of $19 million.