Egypt signed a $3.5 billion agreement with U.S. Apache, for the exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas in concession areas in Egypt’s Western Desert, according to the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
Egypt’s Oil Minister Tarek El Mulla, the CEO of Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) Abed Ezz El Regal as well as the Vice President of US Apache Corportation David Chi signed the agreement to develop the concession areas of Khalda Petroleum Company and Qarun Petroleum Company.
The agreement comes within the framework of the ministry’s new direction to “increase production rates” beyond the current 575,000 barrels per day level. The agreement also contributes to “confronting the natural depletion of wells,” according to a statement issued by the ministry.
According to the ministry’s figures, the total volume of investments in the petroleum sector in Egypt over the past 7 years amounts to about EGP1.2 trillion ($76,336 billion).
Egypt has also been exporting natural gas since 2018, with its current production of natural gas reaching 7 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. It is a member of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum, which includes Egypt, Jordan, Greece, Cyprus, Israel and Italy, which aims to create a regional gas market that offers competitive prices.
The UAE had joined the forum in December 2020 as a non-voting member.
