The 10th edition of the Mediterranean Offshore Conference and Exhibition (MOC 2019), held under the patronage of Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla, at the Bibliotheca Alexandria Conference Center, successfully gathered different oil and gas key leaders.
Mohamed Saafan, the First Undersecretary for Oil Affairs in the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources delivered the opening speech of MOC 2019 on behalf of El Molla.
Egypt Oil & Gas gathered the speeches of some of the most prominent petroleum leaders in the world from their participation in MOC 2019 on October 15.
Royal Dutch Shell:
Gerald Schotman, Executive VP Upstream JVs at Royal Dutch Shell, highlighted the importance of partnerships in the oil and gas sector to achieve more success, noting that “Here in Egypt, we are very proud of our partnerships. During Shell’s 100-year history here, we have made considerable investments and developed deep expertise in its oil and gas resources.”
Additionally, Schotman mentioned that Egypt is a heartland for Shell’s upstream portfolio and that the company is exerting efforts to solidify its position in Egypt.
“In 2016, we made significant new investments in Egypt, through our acquisition of BG Group and its assets. And last year, Shell won five blocks in the international bid rounds: three in the Western Desert and two in the offshore Nile Delta,” Schotman said.
“Today, we are drawing on our deep-water expertise and investing in the offshore Nile Delta. We are exploring at a depth of 6,000 meters and implementing major 3D seismic surveys. And today, through our Rashpetco joint venture, we are developing Phase 9B of West Delta Deep Marine block. Production came on-stream just six months after the start of drilling,” he added.
Italy’s Edison:
Nicolas Katcharov, Edison International’s Vice President for North Africa and the Middle East Operations, said that Egypt has distinct opportunities to occupy a pivotal state for energy in the region, expressing the firm’s keenness on developing its energy business in Egypt through the establishment of ‘Edison Egypt’.
Similarly, Edison will be diversifying its activities in Egypt by entering the field of transmission and distribution of natural gas.
Katcharov highlighted that Edison has invested about $2.2 billion in Abu Qir gas field in the offshore Mediterranean Sea since 2009. He added that during the past two years, the field registered the highest production rate, representing 100% compared to 2009 and 50% versus 2016’s production rate, due to the injection of investments worth $300 million in order to develop the field, inaugurate North Abu Qir Marine platform, and add six wells on the production.
Katcharov pointed out that the production of condensates has also doubled, reaching nearly 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).
Katcharov stressed that Edison is currently intensifying its deep-water activities in Egypt to explore and produce natural gas, as it pumped $100 million into new investments in Egypt during the current fiscal year.
In the last quarter of the current year, Edison worked on drilling two exploration oil wells in the deep-water of the Mediterranean Sea. The first well, Negma-1, was drilled in North East Ha’py in October 2019, while the second one, Ameeq-1, will be drilled before the end of the current year.
Katcharov clarified that Edison will start a development project with investments valued at $200 million for three new oil inventories at North El Amriya and North Idku, which are located in the North Abu Qir field, with reserves of 300 million cubic feet (mcf). Production will start by 2021, Katcharov said.
It is noteworthy that Edison is a leading Italian and European operator in the supply, production, and sale of electricity in energy and environmental services.
Eni:
Luca De Caro, President of IEOC, a subsidiary of Italy’s Eni Group, has reviewed the results of the oil and gas production and development projects in the Mediterranean Sea, the Nile Delta, and Western Sahara, where Zohr gas field is at their forefront. Exemplifying a success story, Zohr’s gas production has reached 2.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) and its production rate from its 13 wells is expected to exceed 3 bcf/d by the end of October.
BP Egypt:
Karim Alaa, BP Egypt General Manager, said that the investments of BP in Egypt exceeded $35 billion, with plans to expand its operations to reach more than three times the current production by 2020 when compared to 2016.
Alaa pointed to the strategic partnership with the Egyptian government that led to the production of nearly 60% of annual natural gas, noting that BP will develop Qattameya inventory to start production by mid-2020.
The West Nile Delta (WND) project includes the development of five wells, as Taurus and Libra fields were added to the production in 2017, followed by Giza and Fayoum wells in February 2019; while it is estimated to start the production of the fifth well, Raven Field, by the end of the year, Alaa stated. Thus, the WND project will acquire approximately 15% of Egypt’s current natural gas production, as it will produce about 1.3 bcf/d.
Wintershall Dea Egypt:
Sameh Sabry, Senior VP and Managing Director in Egypt at Wintershall Dea, stressed that the company is executing an ambitious business plan to reinforce production from its fields in the Gulf of Suez, Nile Delta, and the Mediterranean Sea.
Moreover, Sabry noted that “Egypt, where the company has been investing for more than 45 years, is considered the center of its operations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. [Wintershall Dea] is looking forward to achieving a big boom in its activities and production in Egypt, especially after the improvement in Egypt’s investment climate.”
Additionally, Sabry pointed to “the importance of the merger between two of the largest German companies, which reflects positively on the company’s activities and investments in Egypt in light of the emergence of a new entity with accumulated experiences spanning more than 120 years in the oil and gas industry.”
