Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi, met with Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatari Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Deputy Chairman and President and CEO of Qatar Energy, in Doha today to discuss and explore cooperation and joint investments in the energy sector.
The meeting addressed means to accelerate the launching of joint natural gas projects and the signing of long-term contracts according to which Qatar, the owner of the third largest gas reserves in the world, will supply Egypt with natural gas to help in covering the local demand, which usually increases in summer months. They further discussed enhancing means of integration between the two countries in terms of energy infrastructure, considering the capabilities that both countries possess in the field of liquefied natural gas trading, liquefaction, and regasification.
QatarEnergy is owned by the Qatari government and is a major player in the LNG international market with an annual production capacity of 77 million metric tons.
Badawi and Al-Kaabi also shed light on the means to increase production rates from the concession areas of QatarEnergy in Egypt, especially since QatarEnergy is a key member of the Egypt Upstream Gateway (EUG).
The two ministers also touched upon the status of QatarEnergy’s drilling plans, particularly in the Nefertari, Cairo, Masry, and North Marakia wells in the Mediterranean Sea, which the company co-owns with ExxonMobil.
Al-Kaabi said QatarEnergy want to expand the scope of its operations and increase its investments in the field of research and exploration in Egypt, a policy that was recently manifested by the company’s conclusion of an agreement with EGAS and Chevron, whereby QatarEnergy acquired a portion of Chevron’s share in the North Dabaa offshore concession area.
Also, Badawi introduced his Qatari counterpart to investment opportunities in the fields of oil, gas, and value-added petrochemicals.
The visit comes in light of the strategic importance that the petroleum and mineral resources sector attaches to ensuring the availability of petroleum products to meet the demand for natural gas, especially that of the power sector. Egyptians had to deal with nationwide power cuts last summer due to increased demand due to an exceptionally hot weather
