Egyptian Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi held a video conference with Chevron's head of core assets and emerging countries, Javier La Rosa, and other company leaders to review cooperation on linking the Cypriot gas field, Aphrodite, to Egypt's infrastructure. They also discussed Chevron's activities in Egypt and explored opportunities to expand natural gas exploration in the Mediterranean during the coming period.
Minister Badawi emphasized the importance of expediting the completion of necessary procedures and agreements to connect the Aphrodite field to Egypt's infrastructure. This would support moving forward with the project and utilizing the available capabilities of both parties. He noted that Egyptian-Cypriot cooperation in the gas sector enjoys high-level political support, providing a significant boost to completing various technical and commercial aspects of the project.
Badawi stressed the need to intensify coordination among all concerned parties during the coming period and finalize technical, financial, and commercial frameworks, as well as relevant timelines. This would pave the way for completing agreements and advancing the project to implementation stages, given Egypt's advanced gas infrastructure and diverse capabilities to accommodate gas resources from the Eastern Mediterranean region.
The meeting also covered Chevron's plans to expand its activities in the Egyptian market, particularly in natural gas exploration in the Mediterranean. This is in light of available investment opportunities in western Mediterranean regions. The parties also discussed enhancing cooperation in exploration and production, which would support increasing drilling and exploration activities, achieving new discoveries, and boosting production rates.
Minister Badawi highlighted the Egyptian Petroleum sector's commitment to providing a supportive environment for expanding international companies' investments in exploration activities. This aims to maximize benefits from promising opportunities in the Mediterranean, contributing to efforts to increase domestic natural gas production.
La Rosa affirmed Chevron's commitment to continuing its activities and investments in Egypt, enhancing cooperation with the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Wealth, and its partners in various projects. He praised the support provided by the Ministry and efforts to accelerate the completion of joint agreements and projects, stressing the company's commitment to working according to targeted programs and timelines.
The meeting was attended by several officials, including Executive Director of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) Eng. Seid Selim, Dr. Mohamed El-Bagouri, Head of the Central Administration for Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Petroleum, Chevron Egypt Manager Siva Chana Korukula, and Chevron Cyprus Manager Basil E.
Key points
- Egypt and Chevron to enhance cooperation on Aphrodite gas field project.
- Minister Badawi emphasizes importance of expediting agreements for project implementation.
- Chevron reaffirms commitment to investments and cooperation in Egypt's petroleum sector.
