No doubt that COVID-19 pandemic represented a tangible test for the success and effectiveness of the country’s economic reforms, as well as the measures that have been taken in the oil and gas sector at the same time. It strongly showed the impact of these reforms in reinforcing investment opportunities in this sector, strengthening the financial and investment position, and achieving sustainability.

Energean is a company that I started back in 2007 when we bought the only oil-producing asset in Greece. Back then it was and still is an asset that is producing oil, it was the only production in Greece with a small production of 2,000 barrels a day. Since then, we started the growth of making Energean what it is today, the leading independent E&P company in the Mediterranean. So, from the start in 2007 to where we are today, we started with 2 million barrels oil equivalent of 2p reserves and today, we have ended up 2020 with 974 million barrels of oil equivalent of 2p reserves.

To begin with, the coronavirus has affected the global energy markets as well as the primary energy consumption in multiple ways. While this global pandemic was only seen as a minor threat to the city of Wuhan in China, its turbulent and intense effect on the energy market hasn’t been seen since the Swine Flu that spread between 2009 and 2010, with a similar global impact. The unpredictability of the coronavirus’s spread has caused a major fluctuation in the oil and gas industry, especially when concerned with supply and demand.

One year ago, the mining sector vouched for a fundamental change from within its core practices. That change came in the form of new legislative reforms and new opportunities that were sound enough to power through a pandemic. Throughout 2020, the sector retained its bold moves only to prove that Egypt’s mining potential is above any crisis. This one-year journey was full of exciting news that spearheaded the development of the sector.

What a year it has been for the global oil and gas industry and all its divisions! Unexpected as it was, it was not all downs, at least for Egypt. Despite the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, Egypt’s petroleum sector has had a strong year on so many levels and its refining division is no exception.

With the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 brought challenges that no one was prepared for, changing the way we live, dominating political scenes, and sending shock waves across the world markets.

2020 was dominated by coronavirus which affected most of the industries worldwide, but the Egyptian petroleum sector has a different story to tell. Despite the economic recession and lockdowns in most countries, the Egyptian oil and gas sector managed to keep adequate performance at many levels. However, cooperation and partnership agreements, conducted through our the year, can be seen as a cornerstone that reinforced the industry’s structure amid the pandemic crisis.

Despite the challenges imposed by the coronavirus outbreak in 2020, the oil and gas research scene thrived with many outstanding research papers to help Egyptian petroleum achievements be at the forefront of the industry. In our year-end issue, Egypt Oil and Gas (EOG) selected two of papers that happened to address some of the important topics that were addressed too in our issues during 2020.

Well, I believe that we have to adopt a few approaches simultaneously. That should happen without losing focus upon the business continuity and the level of services we provide to our valued customers. With that being done, we shall focus upon organizational rightsizing and internal business process transformation while developing innovative efficiency approaches to reduce the overall cost of service delivery.

When Methanex Egypt started production from its state-of-the-art facility in Damietta almost 10 years ago, the Egyptian domestic methanol market depended solely on imported product to feed the growing demand for methanol, an essential ingredient used to produce hundreds of everyday industrial and consumer items.