QatarEnergy enters Egypt
Qatar's QatarEnergy has reached a deal with Shell to acquire interests in two offshore exploration blocks in Egypt, the national gas company said on December 13.
QatarEnergy will take 17% interests in Red Sea blocks 3 and 4, the company said, pending the approval of the transactions by Egypt's government.
|
Advertisement: The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) NGC’s HSSE strategy is reflective and supportive of the organisational vision to become a leader in the global energy business. |
"We are pleased with this important development, as it represents QatarEnergy’s entry into the Arab Republic of Egypt’s well-established upstream oil and gas sector and offers an opportunity for the consortium partners to explore this frontier acreage," Qatari energy minister and QatarEnergy CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi commented.
Shell was awarded rights to blocks 3 and 4 in late 2019, which span around 3,100 km2 of the Red Sea each. Water depths range between 100 and 1,000 m in block 3, and 150 to 500 m in block 4.
Once the deals are closed, Shell will retain a 43% operating stake in Block 3. Other shareholders include BHP with 30% and Tharwa Petroleum with 10%. It will also keep a 21% operating interest in Block 4, where BHP has 25%, Tharwa Petroleum 10% and Mubadala 27%.
Shell scaled back in September when it sold its onshore fields in the Western Desert area for up to $926mn to UK producer Cairn Energy and its Egyptian partner Cheiron Petroleum. But the oil major said at the time that it still considered its offshore assets in the country's Nile Delta, West Mediterranean and Red Sea areas as core.