Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between EGAS, SeaSplit Technologies, and General Electric (GE) to remove industrial carbon from the Gulf of Suez.

The MoU was signed on the sidelines of COP 27 by Magdy Galal, EGAS Chairman; Hussein Mesharafa, CEO of SeaSplit Technologies; and Joseph Anis, President & CEO, Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), GE Gas Power.

According to the MoU, the three companies plan to assess the technical and economic feasibility of developing 1.5 gigawatts of offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Suez, and intend to discuss the participation of Egyptian petroleum sector companies in the implementation of the project. This is an unprecedented project in Africa and the Middle East, and it is expected that the electricity generated will operate the offshore oil and gas facilities, and it can also supply the grid with surplus energy.

The main goal is to develop projects that can support social and economic development efforts. Egypt has vast offshore wind resources, and our analysis of the data shows that wind capacity in the Gulf of Suez can reach 10 gigawatts. This ambitious announcement paves the way for utilizing these resources to transform the Gulf of Suez into an industrial zone with net zero carbon emissions, in line with the objectives of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in the field of clean energy, sustainable development and carbon neutrality. The project is expected to create promising opportunities in localization and supply chains and important job opportunities, Mesharafa commented.

Meanwhile, Anis congratulated Egypt on hosting important climate talks at COP27 and for demonstrating leadership in developing and implementing concrete and realistic solutions to drive transformation in the energy sector. This initiative has the potential to cement Egypt’s position as a regional center for renewable energy and can set new standards in the provision of clean energy to drive industrial operations.

GE has supported infrastructure development across Egypt for over 45 years, and through this project, we are honored to continue building on this success to contribute to the country’s long-term sustainability goals and help address the world’s climate challenge, Anis added.