The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) has signed an agreement with Italian Eni and UK bp to extend the development lease for the Baltim East field in Baltim, offshore the Nile Delta region. Under the extended agreement, Eni and bp plan to reinvest and expand their operations in the Baltim East field over the next five years to unlock new gas resources.

The agreement aligns with the Ministry’s strategy to increase domestic oil and gas production and meet local energy demand through intensified exploration in promising offshore areas, said Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

For his part, Wael Shaheen, Vice President of bp Egypt, emphasized the importance of the agreement. He said that leveraging the existing infrastructure will contribute to accelerating development processes and increasing production rates.

Baltim area is mainly divided into three development leases, Baltim North, Baltim East, and Baltim South. The whole area covers 500 square kilometers with estimated natural gas reserves of one trillion cubic feet (tcf). The field is operated by IEOC (Eni’s subsidiary) with 50% interests in partnership with bp, which holds the other 50% stake.