Helal & Fraser International law office, established by Egyptian corporate/commercial lawyer Hader Helal and Scottish corporate/energy lawyer Hugh Fraser, believes that the Mediterranean and North Africa region offers significant opportunities in energy. The Energy Industries Council is tracking over $60 billion of energy sector projects in Egypt alone.
COP27 held in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt in November 2022 recognized the region’s growing importance as a growing energy exporter, driving increasing government and private sector revenues for North Africa and enhanced energy security for Europe. This will drive domestic and foreign investment and herald a new era in cross-Mediterranean trade and cooperation for years to come. The East Mediterranean Gas Forum based in Cairo brings together Egypt, Cyprus, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Greece and France to cooperate on developing an infrastructure for gas trade within the region and with external markets.
Egypt has emerged as a world-class gas exploration, production and distribution hub, driven by massive investments worth $75 billion in the five years up to 2020 in the Mediterranean and West Nile Delta led by bp and Eni. The Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea are now also significant areas of investments in offshore gas exploration and production projects, attracting a wide variety of international E&P companies and regional players.
Egypt retains a vibrant onshore and shallow water petroleum sector, dominated by entrepreneurial independent exploration and development companies. Unlike neighboring territories dominated by single NOC markets, Egypt’s sector sees regular deal activity involving petroleum assets. The recent 8th Oil and Gas Convention held in November 2022 in Cairo tracked the status and future of the sector, with decarbonization and digitalization being key themes. EGYPS 2023, being held in February 2023, is now one of the world’s leading energy conferences.
The region is playing a major role in the energy transition with major onshore and offshore renewables developments underway or planned. The Green Corridor Initiative in Egypt is driving the country’s energy transition with major hydropower, solar, wind, hydrogen and nuclear projects completed, under development or planned. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) projects that over 50% of Egypt’s power generation will come from renewable sources by 2030.
Egypt offers a politically stable and business-friendly environment, while promoting employment and wealth creation opportunities for its population of 103 million, as the government drives its Egypt Vision 2030 forward. According to the IMF, the economy is projected to grow from $364 billion in 2021 to $585 billion in 2026. Much of this expansion will be driven by the country’s dynamic ICT, construction, real estate, retail and financial services industries. Scaling up investment in manufacturing remains a policy priority as the country shifts towards more technology-intensive manufacturing segments with high value added. Oxford Business Group’s Egypt 2022 Economic Report references the Suez Canal Economic Zone project which is designed to encourage regional and international investment in a range of industry clusters within close proximity to one of the world’s most important trade routes.
Egypt and the MENA region are expected to be a leading “gateway” in the role out of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). AfCFTA is one the flagship aspects of “Agenda 63” of the African Union, with the creation of one African market. By eliminating trade barriers in Africa, the objective of AfCFTA is to significantly boost intra-African trade, particularly trade in value added production and trade across all sectors of Africa’s economy.
These opportunities will be driven by investment in energy technology. The month of May showcased a range of leading-edge energy technologies across the Mediterranean/North Africa and the wider MENA region as the scramble continues to overcome energy transition, energy security and energy affordability challenges, especially in Europe. Kicking off with EGYPS 2023, MEOS 2023, Middle East Energy 2023, GOTECH 2023 and MENA Green Hydrogen 2003 in February/March, the post-Ramadan/Easter period has moved forward in April/May with a massive range of energy technology and know-how on show at WindEurope 2023, the World Utilities Congress 2023, OWI MENA 2023, Subsea Technology East Mediterranean 2003, and SPE IADC MENA Drilling 2023.
Helal & Fraser International has been represented at all these key energy technology events. Based in Cairo, our focus is to support technology-focused joint ventures in the Mediterranean/North Africa region and play our role in supporting Egypt and the region’s progress.
