Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla revealed an annual plan that includes investments worth $8 billion in the oil and gas sector during the current fiscal year for research, exploration, development, and operating expenses.

He emphasized the country’s success in obtaining the support of international companies and strategic partners.

El Molla’s comments came in a statement to Asharq Business on the sidelines of his participation in the annual OPEC+ conference in the Austrian capital, Vienna.

An ambitious plan has been drawn up for drilling work to explore natural gas in Egypt, most of which will be offshore. The plan will include the East Mediterranean in the Egyptian territorial waters, along with the Nile Delta in the Mediterranean, and the economic zones in the western Mediterranean, with 35 large exploration wells, with investments amounting to $1.8 billion within two years.

It is worth noting that Shell will start drilling three new wells for gas extraction in Egypt this year. This may result in an addition of 200 million cubic feet per day (mcf/d), starting in the middle of 2024. Chevron will also start drilling the first exploratory well to search for oil and gas in its concession area in the Red Sea.

Meanwhile, El Molla referred to several joint projects in the field of renewable energy, as Egypt works to make renewable energy reach 42% of its energy mix by 2030. Contracts have been signed with major Saudi and Emirati companies to add more than 20 gigawatts of wind and solar energy.

El Molla added that eight preliminary agreements have been signed with companies to start green hydrogen production projects, in addition to signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the European Union for cooperation in the same field.

The minister pointed to providing investment incentives for companies to enhance investment attraction and transform agreements into investments on the ground.