Egypt’s Petroleum Minister Tarek El-Mo lla (M) during the signing of the deal with Neptune Energy on Wednesday, February 12, 2019, Cairo, Egypt

Egypt has signed an oil and gas exploration deal with Neptune Energy worth around $35 million for three wells in the Gulf of Suez, the oil ministry said on Wednesday. The wells will be drilled in the North West El Amal offshore concession, the ministry said. The agreement was signed on the second day of Egypt’s international oil conference EGYPS 2020. The ministry also signed an agreement with the UK’s BSW Group Holdings Ltd to set up a refining and petrochemical complex in New Alamein City on the Mediterranean coast, the ministry said in a statement sent to Ahram Online. The estimated cost of the project is $8.5 billion. With an annual capacity of 1.5 million tonnes, the project aims to tap crude oil produced in Western central part of the Gulf of Suez, approximately 42 km south of Ras Gharib and 105 km north of Hurghada. The signing ceremony was held today at the Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS) and was attended by Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, His Excellency Eng. Tarek El Molla, CEO of EGPC, Abed Ezz El Regal; Neptune Energy’s CEO Jim House, VP North Africa & Asia

“This is another important step for Neptune in the region and we’re pleased to build on our strong relationships with our partners and with the Ministry.” Desert fields to produce petrochemicals. It will also produce another 1 million tonnes of diesel, Mazut and kerosene annually. Another agreement was signed on Tuesday between Egypt’s state-owned energy firm Petrojet and Italy’s oilfield services company Saipem to work together in Libya. Joint investments between the two firms now stand at $800 million, the ministry Pacific Philip Lafeber and Egypt Managing Director Gamal Kassem. central Neptune CEO, Jim House said: “Our strategy is to invest and grow our presence in Egypt which is an important market for Neptune. We are committed to strengthening our presence in North Africa through exploration and production activities.

added. Egypt is looking to become a regional hub for liquefied natural gas trade, especially with its major discoveries in recent years including the mammoth offshore Zohr gas field. Second Version Neptune Energy today signed an operated exploration licence with the Egyptian General Petroleu m Corporation (EGPC) for Egypt’s North West El Amal Offshore Concession, under l ining the co m pany ‘ s commitment to growing its presence in North Africa, an important region for the business. 2 Neptune will acquire 100 km of 3D seismic data and drill one exploration well in the first phase, with two further wells planned in phase two. The North West El Amal Offshore concession 2 covers 365 km and is located in the “This is another important step for Neptune in the region and we’re pleased to build on our strong relationships with our partners and with the Ministry.”Egypt Managing Director, Gamal Kassem added: “The Gulf of Suez provides many promising prospects and we look forward to working closely with EGPC to grow Neptune’s business in Egypt.”