The signing took place on the sidelines of the 2025 ADIPEC conference in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Under the MoU, ExxonMobil intends to invest in a new
concession area west of the Zohr field near the border with Cyprus. This move
will enhance the company's investments in the East Mediterranean and increase
its offshore operational areas in Egypt to four, reflecting the company's confidence
in the attractive investment environment of the oil and gas sector and the
significant opportunities in the region.
This expansion aligns with the first pillar of the Egyptian
Ministry of Petroleum's strategy, which aims to boost production rates,
intensify drilling and exploration, and attract more foreign investment in the
sector. The announcement underscores the major global company's commitment to
reinforcing its investments in Egypt's oil and gas sector. It also enables the
strengthening of Egypt's infrastructure to connect any future discoveries
within a unified system, enhancing the country's capabilities as a regional hub
for gas trading and transport in the East Mediterranean.
Following the signing, the Minister and the ExxonMobil Vice
President held a discussion session reviewing the company's plans in Egypt.
ExxonMobil will drill new exploratory gas wells in the Masry and Cairo areas of
the Mediterranean. They stressed the importance of the incentivizing step to
accelerate exploration operations following progress in legislative procedures
to implement a new, attractive investment system: the Profitability Coefficient
system, which is compatible with virgin and new areas to encourage investment.
They also reviewed the status of the North Marakia Offshore concession area, which saw the "Nefertari-1" discovery. The officials emphasized the importance of speeding up the development of this discovery and bringing it onto the production map as soon as possible.