During the opening of Gastech 2024, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi emphasized Egypt’s pivotal role as a gateway connecting the East, West, and North in the trade of natural gas and hydrogen. He highlighted the country’s strategic importance, citing its robust infrastructure, abundant natural resources, and renewable energy sources, including solar and wind.

These remarks were made during his keynote speech at the ministerial panel, titled “From Mitigation to Adaptation: Navigating Volatile Geopolitics in a Fragmenting Global Order.”

Badawi affirmed that collaboration and collective efforts are essential for the optimal exploitation of resources. He also stressed the need to create a favorable economic environment to attract investments in the petroleum sector and secure the necessary funding for carbon reduction projects.

Furthermore, the minister highlighted the goal of increasing the share of renewable energy in Egypt’s energy mix to approximately 42% by 2030, as part of the country’s integrated and sustainable energy strategy.

He also emphasized the importance of ensuring sufficient natural gas supply for use in value-added projects.

Moreover, Badawi touched on the role of technology in maximizing production from existing fields and how to benefit from technology to accelerate research and exploration operations.

He highlighted the importance of working with regional partners to utilize Egypt’s infrastructure for receiving gas from Eastern Mediterranean countries, liquefying it, and re-exporting it to European markets.

The minister also emphasized the need to leverage Egypt’s extensive infrastructure in petrochemicals and refineries to generate added value.

He explained the crucial role of the energy sector in the Egyptian economy and the government’s commitment to accelerating investment attraction and fostering continuous cooperation between private sector companies and government agencies.

Badawi reaffirmed his commitment to building on the sector’s achievements, aiming to maximize the value of Egypt’s natural resources in line with the state’s strategy to enhance added value.