Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi has reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to implementing a comprehensive package of incentives and investment measures designed to attract additional investments, accelerate exploration and development activities, and increase domestic natural gas production.
He also stressed that strengthening partnerships with international energy companies remains a key pillar of Egypt’s strategy to enhance energy security and maximise the value of its natural resources.
The minister remarks came as he witnessed on Wednesday the signing of a new agreement with Harbour Energy and a memorandum of understanding with Eni, aimed at stimulating investments, expanding exploration activities and supporting efforts to increase natural gas production.
As part of these efforts, the minister oversaw the signing of a commitment agreement for the Desouk concession area in the onshore Nile Delta between the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and Harbour Energy.
The agreement provides for the addition of two new blocks to the concession area, with the company committing to drill two exploration wells and undertake maintenance work on one producing well under the Desouk-1 development project, the ministry said in a statement.
The agreement involves initial investments of $6 million, in addition to a signing bonus of $1 million.
Total investments could rise to approximately $18 million should new discoveries be made, including an additional $12 million allocated for development activities to accelerate production from potential reserves.
Minister Badawi noted that the agreement reflects the success of the ministry’s strategy of granting adjacent exploration areas to existing partners, enhancing the economic viability of projects and increasing opportunities for new discoveries while making effective use of existing infrastructure to reduce development costs and shorten production timelines.
The Minister also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Italian energy company Eni concerning the renewal of the Port Fouad offshore development area in the Mediterranean Sea and its associated work programme.
The memorandum seeks to establish a more attractive investment framework for exploration and production activities, encourage the development of untapped discoveries and maximise the value of existing infrastructure.
