Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, met with representatives from Quantum Capital Group (QCG), a U.S. energy investment firm. The delegation included Charles Davidson, Partner at QCG, and Patrick Hughes, the company’s Managing Director and Head of Global Government Affairs.

The meeting explored investment opportunities in Egypt’s petroleum and gas sector, with Quantum Capital seeking to enter the Egyptian market and establish a long-term portfolio. Badawi highlighted promising investment opportunities in exploration, development, and production, especially in the Eastern and Western Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

He said the ministry has adopted flexible economic models, including the R-Factor profitability model, already successful in the Western Mediterranean and now increasingly used in the Red Sea and southern regions.

Badawi also highlighted the Egypt Upstream Gateway, which provides geological and technical data to investors, and the Open Blocks system, which awards exploration areas to qualified investors within 30 days if there are no competing bids.

On refining and infrastructure, Badawi said Egypt has eight modern refineries operating to international standards. He pointed to investment opportunities in a $4.5 billion refinery upgrade program to produce higher-value petroleum products.

Badawi also highlighted SUMED pipeline’s role as a key route for transporting, trading, and storing crude oil between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. One example is the partnership with the Emirate of Fujairah to create a regional petroleum products hub at El Hamra Port in New Alamein City.

Attending the meeting were Mahmoud Nagi, Head of the Central Administration and Supervisor of Safety, Environment, Energy Efficiency, and Climate Affairs; and Mohamed El Assi, Head of the Central Administration for Financial and Economic Affairs.

Founded in 1998, Quantum Capital Group provides private equity, credit, and venture capital to the global energy and energy transition industry, having managed more than $30 billion in capital commitments with its affiliates since inception. Quantum invests across the energy value chain, including oil and gas, energy infrastructure, renewable power, decarbonization, and energy and sustainability technologies.