The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, said the Egyptian petroleum sector achieved unprecedented production rates of natural gas, noting that that petroleum sector achieved %27 of the gross domestic product (GDP), a press release reported.

This came during his participation in a discussion panel entitled “The Future of Energy in Egypt” via video conference with members of American Business Council and American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), in attendance of several CEO’s of international oil companies (IOCs).

El Molla said that despite the current circumstances, the efforts of regional cooperation witnessed intensive activities during the last period. Additionally, he praised the relation between Egypt and the US in the oil and gas field. He noted that Chevron’s acquisition of Nobel Energy can open cooperation opportunities in the region.

For his part, John Christman, Chairman of Egyptian-American Business Council and CEO of Apache, praised the petroleum sector capability of attracting exploration and production (E&P) investments to Egypt despite COVID-19 challenges.

Karim Badawi, Managing Director of Schlumberger Egypt and Middle East, praised the usage of the latest technologies especially in promoting the E&P areas and posting bid rounds.

Furthermore, Hesham Fahmy, the Chairman of American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt (AmCham), said that oil and gas sector is the main engine for the Egyptian economy. He expressed his admiration of the procedures taken by the government to motivate investments.

El Molla asserted that wise leadership and economic reforms contributed to attracting more investments in Egypt noting that economic, political and security stability helped the petroleum sector to attract international investments.

The minister highlighted the sector’s success in finalizing 12 agreements for E&P activities in the Western Dessert, East and West Mediterranean as well as Red Sea.