UK Energy giant bp reaffirmed its commitment to boosting investments in Egypt, accelerating drilling programs, and turning discoveries into actual production on an accelerated pace.

This came during a meeting of Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, with Nader Zaki, Regional President of bp for the Middle East and North Africa and Wail Shaheen bp’s Regional Vice President in Egypt, to review the status of bp’s projects and the company’s investment plans for the next phase.

Zaki reaffirmed BP’s commitment to its historic partnership with Egypt’s petroleum sector, noting that the ministry’s efforts to improve the investment climate and introduce new incentives have placed Egypt among BP’s global investment priorities. He added that the company has an ambitious plan to maximize the potential of Egypt’s promising geological resources and to increase the investments of Arcius Energy (a joint venture between bp and ADNOC’s XRG) in developing the country’s gas resources in the coming period, according to a statement by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources

The meeting also highlighted bp’s “ambitious” drilling plan in Egypt, scheduled to commence this year and includes the drilling of new wells within the company’s concession areas in the Mediterranean, as per the agreement signed in September between bp and the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) to drill five new deepwater gas wells in the region.

Badawi asserted the significance of this program, which aligns with the Ministry’s strategy to maximize natural gas exploration activities, adding that the Ministry is keen to provide the necessary support to overcome any challenges that may arise during the drilling operations.

The meeting also reviewed the status of the Fayoum-5 and King-2 discoveries in the West Nile Delta basin achieved last year, and ways to accelerate the start of production from the two wells,  to boost domestic gas output.

The minister and BP executives explored ways to expand bp’s portfolio to include new concessions in  the Western Mediterranean and the Red Sea

Badawi emphasized that Egypt’s foreign partners’ success in the Mediterranean paves the way for replicating the experience in the Red Sea, especially with the existence of the necessary investment incentives.

bp has been present in Egypt for over 60 years, with investments exceeding $35 billion. The company produces around 70% of Egypt’s natural gas through joint ventures with the Pharaonic Petroleum Company (PhPC) and Petrobel in the East Nile Delta, as well as through bp-operated fields in the West Nile Delta.

bp has committed to invest $5 billion in gas projects over the next few years in Egypt, along with Arcius Energy, which also committed to invest $3.7 billion over the next five years.