Robin Dupre
HOUSTON– As Egypt’s dependency on gas increases, particularly electricity, the country is in the midst of restructuring to meet its energy demands as well as becoming a regional energy hub, commented Tarek El Molla, Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, at OTC.
The minister shed light on several investment opportunities, around $35 billion, in various areas of the oil and gas industry in the country, noting that Egypt has undertaken energy reforms to attract more international investments. Several projects are to be developed, specifically, Zohr, North Alex, and Atol, and a few planned projects worth $8 billion, to increase the country’s capacity.
He also provided a status update on the country’s largest discovery in the Mediterranean, Zohr, saying that around $12 billion in initial investments have been made, with the potential of reaching $16 billion in the near future. A processing plant as well as onshore site preparation for the offshore gas discovery commenced in March with first gas on target for December 2017.
Apache Corp. also provided a status update in the conference session, stating that $1 billion in new investments in Egypt have been allocated in its fiscal year 2016-2017 budget. The company plans to drill 60 to 70 wells and have on average six rigs working in 2016.
Apache has had a strong presence in Egypt’s petroleum industry for more than 20 years, during which its investments have exceeded $12 billion in 23 concession areas, making it Egypt’s top producer and leading explorer.
05/03/2016
