The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation has met with exploration managers from its joint venture partners to review appraisal activities and discuss the petroleum sector’s five-year plan to boost hydrocarbon production and reserves.
EGPC deputy chief executive for exploration Ahmed Kamal credited the joint ventures’ exploration teams for adding new reserves and supporting field development, highlighting successes in the Western Desert, the Gulf of Suez and the offshore Nile Delta, while stressing that timely settlement of partners’ dues and adherence to work programmes require greater effort from both EGPC and its partners.
Each joint venture, working with its foreign partner, has been instructed to prepare a regularly updated portfolio of exploration opportunities within its concession areas, complete with technical and economic evaluations to enable rapid execution of viable projects, alongside efforts to simplify procedures and remove operational obstacles. Participants also discussed the sector’s shortage of technical personnel and ways to make better use of existing expertise.
The discussions build on a five-year exploration and production plan Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi outlined to international oil company representatives late last year, which prioritises Egypt reaching self-sufficiency in crude oil while continuing to grow natural gas output and channelling surplus production into value-added industries and exports.
Source: (egyptoil-gas.com)