Shell Egypt participates in the 10th Mediterranean Offshore Conference and Exhibition (MOC 2019) under the patronage of Tarek El Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, at the Bibliotheca Alexandria Conference Center, Egypt Oil & Gas reports.

The event was attended by Shell senior executives, including Gerald Schotman, Executive VP Upstream JVs at Royal Dutch Shell; Khaled Kacem, Chairman and Managing Director of Shell Egypt; Emmanuel Anyium, Social Performance/Social Investment Director for the Mena Region and North Africa at Royal Dutch Shell; and Benjamin Mee, Exploration Manager at Shell Egypt.

Schotman stressed during his speech the crucial importance of partnerships in the oil and gas sector to achieve more success, noting that “Here in Egypt, we are very proud of our partnerships. During Shell’s 100-year history here, we have made considerable investments and developed deep expertise in its oil and gas resources.”

Schotman clarified that Egypt is a heartland for Shell’s upstream portfolio and the company is exerting efforts to solidify its position in Egypt.

“In 2016, we made significant new investments in Egypt, through our acquisition of BG Group and its assets. And last year, Shell won five blocks in the international bid rounds: three in the Western Desert and two in the Offshore Nile Delta,” Schotman said.

“Today, we are drawing on our deep-water expertise and investing in the offshore Nile Delta. We are exploring at a depth of 6,000 meters and implementing major 3D seismic surveys. And today, through our Rashpetco joint venture, we are developing Phase 9B of West Delta Deep Marine block. Production came on-stream just six months after the start of drilling,” he added.

Moreover, Schotman pointed out that Shell supports Egypt to achieve its goals, in terms of increasing the production of crude oil, condensates, and natural gas in order to be a regional energy hub.

Furthermore, Schotman mentioned the “Fit for the Future” program, which mainly targets operating projects more safely, reliably, and cost-effectively, noting that “Since 2015, the program has helped us reduce costs by 20%, while increasing production by 20%. We have brought ‘Fit for the Future’ to Egypt, too. In the Western Desert, we have worked with Bapetco to reduce dry hole drilling costs by around 40% a meter and introduced pad drilling.”

Speaking about energy transition, Schotman noted that today’s energy system is related to fuels that produce greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, pointing out that “To meet the goal of the Paris Agreement, the energy system will have to evolve. That requires products which release much lower levels of greenhouse gases for each unit of energy consumed.”

Additionally, Schotman mentioned that any successful project depends on energetic people who help achieve good performance and make progress in energy transition. He also pointed out the ‘Intilaqaah’ program, which helps young entrepreneurs turn their ideas into sustainable businesses.

In this context, Kacem said, “Egypt is a highly competitive and promising market and the challenges facing the oil and gas industry can be faced through legislative reforms and a Modernization Program, within the industry, especially after the issuance of the new gas law.”

Moreover, Darwish stressed that “We were keen to share our expertise in different technical and business sustainability sessions during the Mediterranean Offshore Conference and Exhibition. Our participation reflects Shell’s operations as one of the only full-value chains, starting from oil and gas exploration and production to manufacturing lubricants.”