Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi is pushing for accelerated oil and natural gas exploration to boost the country’s energy production.
During a meeting on Sunday, September 7, with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi, the president called for an increase in drilling and foreign investment.
With rising tensions with Israel, Egypt is focused on diversifying its energy supply. The country’s $35 billion gas export deal with Israel, which was set to deliver 130 billion cubic meters of gas by 2040, is now in question. To compensate, Egypt is preparing to receive Cypriot gas from the Kronos field in 2027, which it plans to re-export to Europe using its liquefaction facilities.
Minister Badawi reported on recent progress, including the signing of four new exploration agreements in the Mediterranean at the end of August. These agreements, with companies like Shell, Eni, and Zarubezhneft, represent an investment of €340 million for the drilling of ten new wells. Badawi emphasized that this demonstrates “investors’ growing confidence in the Egyptian economic environment.”
President Al-Sisi stressed the need to offer new incentives to international companies and settle any outstanding payments to foreign partners to strengthen the country’s credibility. He also called for the rapid integration of new discoveries into the national production plan.
MK/ac/fss/abj/APA