The signing came following a meeting between the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi and the presidents of Shell and Cheiron Energy. The meeting is part of a series of discussions with international oil companies operating in Egypt to follow up on plans to pump new investments to increase oil and natural gas production.

A $222 million agreement with Shell Egypt
 

Badawi, the President of Shell Egypt, Dalia El-Gabry, and the CEO of Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) Alaa El-Batal witnessed the signing of an agreement between EGPC, Shell, and the Malaysian Petronas to pump additional investments in the deep-water Western Delta region to carry out the tenth phase of the project and increase production rates and recoverable reserves of natural gas.

The companies will invest $222 million to drill three gas production wells and establish offshore facilities to bring those wells into production.

The three wells are expected to produce between 150 to 200 million cubic feet before the end of 2024.

During her meeting with Badawi, El-Gabry explained the progress made on the West Nile Delta Deep Gas (WDDM) projects in its tenth and eleventh phases. She also discussed the new agreements to pump investments into these two phases.

El-Gabry also highlighted Shell's success in drilling three new exploratory wells in new Mediterranean areas and discovering natural gas at "West Mina" and "Khufu" in northeast Ameria.

Furthermore, she affirmed that there are great and promising opportunities in Egypt that the company is working to invest in through major exploration and production projects. El-Gabry also stressed the importance of enhancing joint coordination between the petroleum sector and Shell in facing any challenges.

Another $120 million deal with Cheiron Energy

Similarly, Badawi, officials from Cheiron Energy, and the CEO of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation Alaa El-Batal inked a commitment agreement for Gesium and West Long areas in the Gulf of Suez between EGPC and both Cheiron Energy and KUFPEC (Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company) to pump $120 million in investments to continue development operations, increase production rates, and expand the exploration areas.

The agreement also stipulates that Cheiron Energy and KUFPEC commit to drilling nine wells, including three exploration wells, to increase exploration work and production from approximately 21,000 to 26,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

The officials at Cheiron Energy confirmed that they have an intensive work program in their onshore and offshore concession areas and have plans to increase the number of rigs in their work areas to reach the common goal of increasing production and reserves.

They added that they were exploring increasing natural gas production from the West Burullus offshore field development project.