According to the Egyptian Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Sherif Ismail, the energy sector is estimated to receive investments worth $47bn over the next five years.

Ismail made the remarks during the inauguration of phase (9-A) of the mega project of developing the deep water oil fields of West Delta in the Mediterranean Sea, a press statement by the cabinet stated. The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab.

The $6.1bn project will produce 400 mcf of natural gas and 2,500 barrels of condensates per day, according to the minister.

He unveiled that the Ministry of Petroleum has signed 56 E&P agreements over the past two years with investments worth $12.1bn.

He added that 13 natural gas exploration projects were executed in 2014 with total investments of $3.5bn , with a production rate of 1.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 12,800 barrels per day of condensates.

There are more natural gas field development projects, some currently implemented and others still in the planning phase, with investments of $20.8bn to produce 3.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 79,700 barrels of condensates per day, Ismail continued pointing out that the government understands that debt to foreign companies is a priority as well in order to encourage them to boost production levels.

The Ministry is implementing a number of projects to upgrade refineries to meet local market needs of petroleum products with investments estimated at $6bn in addition to planned similar projects with total investments of $3bn.

He pointed out that several new projects with investments of $406 m are being executed for the development of infrastructure to facilitate receiving and handling of petroleum products. There are planned projects with investments of $353m in the same sector, he said.

Source: NVO News