Egypt has signed investment agreements worth over 121 million dollars with Cheiron Petroleum Corporation for oil exploration and production activities, signaling a major push to boost domestic crude output and reduce import dependency in the Gulf of Suez region.
The main agreement, signed on Thursday, covers more than 30 million dollars in investments for oil exploration and production in the East Gemsa offshore area in the Gulf of Suez. Cheiron, which agreed to pay a signing bonus of one million dollars, will drill four new wells in the block.
Minister of Petroleum Karim Badawi witnessed the signing of the deal between Salah Abdel Kerim, CEO of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), and Alan Linn, CEO of Cheiron. Badawi said the agreement supports the first pillar of the ministry’s strategy, which aims to intensify crude oil exploration to identify new reservoirs, boost domestic production, and reduce Egypt’s reliance on imports.
“The agreement is a successful model of public-private partnership and demonstrates our commitment to encouraging Egyptian private sector investment in oil exploration and production,” the minister added.
Badawi also highlighted Egypt’s broader exploration potential, noting that the Western Desert and Gulf of Suez regions offer promising opportunities for discovering and producing crude oil, while advanced technologies will be applied to maximize reserves and uncover new fields.
The deal represents the latest in a series of agreements aimed at expanding private-sector participation in Egypt’s oil and gas sector. In September, EGPC signed three new agreements with international companies to explore for oil and gas in the Western Desert, Gulf of Suez, and North Sinai regions with total investments exceeding the 121 million dollar mark.
Established in the late 1980s, Cheiron, formerly known as PICO International Petroleum and then as the PICO Cheiron Group, has evolved into Egypt’s largest independent exploration and production company with assets in the Western and Eastern Deserts as well as the Nile Delta and the Gulf of Suez regions. In November, Cheiron brought online the West El-Burullus gas field with an estimated output of around 45 million cubic feet per day following the connection of the first wells to the national grid. The field’s output is expected to reach 75 million cubic feet per day in 2026.
Sources: en.amwalalghad.com, egyptoil-gas.com