Dragon Oil, the fully owned exploration and production (E&P) platform of Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), announced that it has acquired the stake of BP at the Gulf of Suez Oil Company (GUPCO) after obtaining the approval from the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

According to Dragon Oil’s press release, the company has become the contractor with Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) instead of BP in all oil production and discovery concessions in Gulf of Suez area where GUPCO is the contractor.

Dragon Oil said the above-mentioned acquisition came as a part of its ongoing drive to be among regionally and globally ranked oil and gas companies.

The completion of the acquisition will enhance the company’s strategic production and investments in a number of regions and countries, such as Turkmenistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan, bringing the company’s daily production to an estimated 150,000 barrels per day (b/d), which is part of Dragon Oil’s strategy to reach production of 300,000 b/d by 2026.

It is noteworthy that GUPCO Egypt is currently producing 60,000 b/d from 11 concessions, while the sustainable production target is 75,000 b/d by 2021.

Dragon Oil plans to boost production to levels above 75,000 b/d by increasing drilling and investment activities in a technical way and maintaining this level of production during the next 10 years through providing the best technical methods, technological practices, and the management of the development of these offshore fields. This will have a positive impact on the company’s future productivity through the injection of investments worth $1 billion during the next five years.

This important deal for Dragon Oil follows the recent successes of investment in the Egyptian oil sector, which has had a positive impact on attracting international companies to invest in the Egyptian oil sector.