Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi, met with a high-level delegation from Italy’s energy giant Eni to review the company’s operations in Egypt and discuss plans to drill new natural gas wells in the Mediterranean.
Discussions focused on the execution of current projects and the timeline for increasing gas and crude oil output from Eni’s concessions in the Mediterranean and Western Desert. The meeting also explored ways to leverage Eni’s technical expertise and advanced technologies to enhance the efficiency of existing wells.
The delegation included Diego Portoghese, Head of North Africa and Levant, Francesco Gaspari, General Manager of the International Egyptian Oil Company (IEOC), Eni’s Egyptian subsidiary, and Mahmoud Abou El-Yazid, Deputy General Manager of Eni in Egypt.
Minister Badawi emphasized Egypt’s commitment to providing all necessary support for foreign partners, noting that Eni’s continued investment reflects the strength of the strategic partnership and mutual trust. He highlighted ongoing cooperation on linking Cypriot gas fields to Egypt’s infrastructure as part of efforts to secure supplies and boost production. Egypt and Cyprus are collaborating on a project that would see gas from the Cypriot offshore field Cronos, co-operated by Eni and TotalEnergies, exported to Egypt for liquefaction and re-export to Europe.
Portoghese reaffirmed Eni’s role as a key partner to Egypt’s petroleum sector, stressing the company’s plans to intensify activities and expand its footprint to help meet national production targets. He praised the close coordination with the ministry in implementing investment and operational programs efficiently, ensuring the sustainability of related initiatives.
The meeting was also attended by Salah Abdel Karim, CEO of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), and Mahmoud Abdel Hamid, Executive Managing Director of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS).
The company contributes approximately 40% of Egypt’s natural gas production through several major assets, including the Zohr gas field in the Shorouk concession and the Baltim fields offshore the Mediterranean.
Eni has committed to investing $8 billion over the next five years to develop existing fields and conduct further exploration activities.
