Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi, met with Kevin McLachlan, Chevron’s Vice President of Exploration, to discuss the positive results of the Nargis-2 appraisal well and progress on developing Cyprus’ Aphrodite gas field and connecting it to Egypt’s infrastructure.

The positive results from drilling the Nargis-2 well in the Mediterranean, confirmed the extension of gas-bearing intervals previously identified in the Nargis-1 discovery, in addition to identifying another gas-bearing interval. The results support further appraisal activities to assess the discovery’s resources and development potential.

Drilling of the Nargis-2 appraisal well began in May 2026 in cooperation with Chevron’s partners and EGAS. The well reached a depth of over 5,000 meters and encountered gas-bearing formations with up to 35 meters of net pay, supporting further evaluation of the 2022 discovery’s resource potential and commercial development prospects.

The Nargis gas discovery was announced in January 2023 following the drilling of the Nargis-1 well in the Eastern Mediterranean. The discovery, operated by Chevron in partnership with Eni and Tharwa Petroleum, is estimated to hold around 3.5 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas resources.

Chevron currently holds interests in six offshore exploration areas in Egypt: Nargis, North Dabaa, Lotus, North West Atoll, North Simian, and North Cleopatra, where it partners with Shell, the block’s operator.

The discussions also covered progress on developing Cyprus’ Aphrodite gas field, including the completion of agreements and arrangements required to connect its production to Egypt’s infrastructure. The project aims to advance toward a final investment decision (FID) and implementation, allowing the use of Egypt’s existing facilities to receive, process, and liquefy natural gas.

Aphrodite is a gas field offshore Cyprus, operated by Chevron (35%) alongside Shell (35%) and NewMed Energy (30%), with plans to transport its gas to Egypt for processing and export.

Badawi highlighted the importance of Egypt’s partnership with Chevron and the need to build on positive exploration results, accelerate appraisal activities, and identify opportunities to develop discoveries to support domestic natural gas production.

He also reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to providing a stable, transparent investment environment, meeting its obligations to international partners, and offering investment incentives to encourage further exploration and production activities.

For his part, McLachlan highlighted Egypt’s strategic importance within Chevron’s Eastern Mediterranean portfolio, citing its investment opportunities and developed natural gas infrastructure. He also expressed the company’s interest in strengthening its partnership with Egypt’s petroleum sector and expanding its exploration activities in the coming period.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC 2026),  held annually in Abu Dhabi, bringing together global energy companies and industry leaders.

Chevron is a US-based multinational energy company engaged in oil and natural gas exploration, production, refining, and energy development worldwide.