Egypt expects to fully settle its outstanding dues to foreign oil and gas partners, reaching “zero arrears” by June 10, 2026, thereby accelerating the initial June 30 deadline. Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, disclosed this during a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, noting that regular payments pushed foreign partners’ arrears down to $440 million in May 2026, dropping sharply from $714 million in April 2026, noted a Cabinet statement.
Badawi stressed that the timely financial settlements restored international confidence, incentivizing global majors to ramp up exploration and production (E&P) investments. To sustain this momentum, the ministry mapped out the 2026 Mediterranean exploratory and development drilling blueprint, which coordinates scheduled production timelines with multinational firms, including Shell, bp, Arcius Energy, Eni, Chevron, and ExxonMobil.
Operationally, the ministry highlighted massive new hydrocarbon discoveries, headlined by Agiba Petroleum Company’s Bostan South-1X exploratory well in the Western Desert. Marking Agiba’s largest find in 15 years, the structure holds estimated recoverable resources of nearly 70 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), encompassing 330 billion cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas and approximately 10 million barrels (mmbbl) of crude oil and condensates.
Furthermore, drilling operations kicked off at a new well within the Nargis natural gas field in the Mediterranean to boost domestic natural gas output and curb the energy import bill.
In the Western Mediterranean, Shell and Chevron are finalising plans to spud the Velox exploration well. This aligns with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and TotalEnergies to establish a strategic partnership to explore offshore hydrocarbon potential. Complementing these drill programs, regional seismic surveys conducted from January to May 2026 completed phased baselines extending over 5,600 kilometers (km) and covering an area of 100,000 square kilometers (sq km).
Solidifying Egypt’s status as a primary East Mediterranean natural gas hub, Cyprus approved the development and production blueprint for the offshore Kronos field. Under the plan, the first natural gas shipments from the field will export to European markets via Egypt’s infrastructure by 2028.
In the mining sector, the Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority (MRMIA) initiated a contract with Spanish firm Xcalibur to execute Egypt’s first comprehensive airborne geophysical survey in 42 years.
