On the opening of the Seventh Edition of Egypt Energy Show (EGYPES2024) inaugurated by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, President of The Arab Republic of Egypt, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Eng. Tarek El Molla delivered a speech:
"In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful and the Most Gracious,
Your Excellency President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt,
Your Excellencies
Ladies and gentlemen,
At the outset, I would like to welcome you all once more to the inauguration of the seventh edition of EGYPES 2024 under the title "Egypt Energy Show" to witness together this exceptional edition, in which this conference is turned into a comprehensive platform, in line with the Egyptian state's trends toward the integration of different elements of energy. Accordingly, we hold this edition under the slogan of "Driving Energy Transition, Security, and Decarbonisation".
I would also like to extend thanks to His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, President of the Republic, for his gracious auspices of the conference and active participation in the opening sessions, which have a distinctive mark on the conference's success and supportiveness of the transformation witnessed in this year's edition, reflecting his confidence in the effective and vital role of the energy sector in Egypt.
Mr. President,
Esteemed audience,
EGYPES conference this year is held amidst a series of regional and global challenges, in particular the climate change that threatens the future of sustainable development, especially with its increasing adverse effects on economic activity.
In this context, the Oil & Gas sector in Egypt succeeded in establishing a new methodology to enhance the role of the oil and gas industry as part of the solution to climate change during the COP27 conference held in Sharm El-Sheikh. This contributed to changing the perception of global climate organisations toward the energy industry and all its resources. The COP28 conference, held in the United Arab Emirates, built on these results.
The efforts of the Oil & Gas sector to reduce emissions were not a cause of current changes but rather the result of a future vision and comprehensive strategy launched by the Oil & Gas sector since 2016 as part of the development and upgrading of the sector targeted all supply chain of the petroleum and gas value chain and focused on securing energy sources, reducing emissions, and achieving sustainability.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Oil & Gas sector, in its comprehensive vision, plays its role in securing energy sources in Egypt, continues to secure the needs of the local market and development projects for oil products and natural gas. Simultaneously, the sector follows an integrated strategy to reduce emissions, which has contributed to the addition of new success stories. Some of these procedures and initiatives include supplying natural gas to about 15 million residential units, with 9 million units served over the past nine years, which equals 60%. Moreover, around 540,000 vehicles have been converted to operate on compressed natural gas, with 70% of them already converted since the launch of the presidential initiative to expand the use of natural gas as a fuel for vehicles in June 2020. Additionally, the number of gas refuelling stations for vehicles has multiplied by five under the initiative, reaching 1,000 stations.
Several projects have been implemented to restore flare and improve energy efficiency, in addition to measures to reduce methane emissions, contributing to achieving the goals of the global methane pledge that President El Sisi announced Egypt's commitment to during the Grand Economic Forum Summit in June 2022.
This is in addition to the expansion in renewable energy production by Oil & Gas sector companies, which has contributed to providing natural gas and solar energy used in electricity generation.
In the framework of establishing an institutional framework for energy transition activities, a specialised centre has been established to provide technical counselling and capacity building in Egypt and Africa.
In the field of green petrochemicals, efforts have continued to implement the project of producing wood panels from rice straw, with plans to commence operations in the second quarter of this year. Additionally, a project to produce sustainable aviation fuel is under study."
Ladies and gentlemen
With the increasing global trends toward energy transition, the importance of hydrogen is emerging as one of the critical sources of clean energy, and the oil sector possesses actual expertise in dealing with the value chain activities of hydrogen, which are considered an integral part of the sector's overall activities. The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, as a key member, participated in formulating the national strategy for low-carbon hydrogen production. Additionally, the National Council for Green Hydrogen and its derivatives was established to unify the state's efforts in promoting investment in this field.
In line with the vision of the President to transform Egypt into a global hub for green hydrogen production, the Oil & Gas sector, in collaboration with international partners, is working on implementing two projects for green ammonia and bio-methanol production.
Alongside climate action efforts, the Oil & Gas sector, in cooperation with its partners, seeks to increase production rates and reserves of petroleum resources (oil and gas) through an integrated plan for drilling and exploration until 2030, as well as enhancing crude oil refining capacities in addition to increasing petrochemical production with total investments of $17 billion. These plans take into account emissions reduction measures throughout their various stages of implementation.
Underscoring the importance of integration and regional cooperation to achieve optimum utilisation of natural gas resources as low-carbon energy resources, the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum was established in 2019 based on the proactive and insightful vision of the Egyptian political leadership.
Based on Egypt's policies and concern about the African continent related to combating climate change, the current edition of the conference dedicates a new event to discuss the most urgent challenges facing the continent.
As Egypt approaches a new presidential term, the Egyptian state is continuing to build upon the achievements and gains made across various sectors in previous years and increase the resilience of the Egyptian economy in the face of successive global crises to continue the journey of development and construction.
In this regard, the Oil & Gas sector has adopted the state's methodology, focusing on contributing to alleviating the burdens on Egyptian citizens and striving to achieve the goals of sustainable development in its economic, environmental, and social dimensions. Since 2021, the Oil & Gas sector has embraced a new standard strategy for corporate social responsibility aimed at achieving sustainability.
Mr. President,
Ladies and gentlemen,
EGYPES has always been a platform to support regional and global integration and cooperation, aiming to fulfil the aspirations of our people and shape a better future for us and the coming generations. We look forward to the conference's success in its new form, meeting our ambitions for the energy transition phase.
As we mentioned, in the sector's journey toward energy transition, we have worked on preparing a generation capable of leading this transformation through an integrated strategy to qualify and develop human capital. This includes capacity-building programs at all administrative levels, one of which is the "Leadership Program for Senior Management" targeting company presidents and executives, as well as the "Training Program for Leadership Qualification" targeting assistant company presidents. These programs aim to familiarise calibres with modern management concepts and strategic leadership for institutions.
In light of your Excellency's interest in empowering youth as a fundamental pillar in the state's plan and its journey toward the new republic, we have translated those visions into tangible reality. In 2018, we embarked on a historic precedent in the sector by implementing a program to qualify young and middle-level leaders to empower youth and build a generation capable of keeping pace with the changes and challenges facing the energy industry globally.
The program followed an effective methodology to achieve continuity and sustainability. It included several phases to select the best candidates, emphasising transparency and equal opportunities. This was done through measuring cognitive and analytical abilities, evaluating personal traits and leadership skills, as well as conducting personal interviews. Additionally, external training opportunities were provided to the program's top candidates in collaboration with international partners. This allowed them to gain scientific and practical experience through simulation systems, as well as learn about the latest management and leadership practices in foreign companies and transfer experiences.
The program ends with the stage of empowering graduates, where a large number of them benefited from new and different strategic projects, in addition to occupying leadership positions to bring about positive change in the sector's bodies and companies and lead the process of change and construction.
In conclusion, I express my sincere thanks and appreciation to Your Excellency, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, for honouring us with your presence at the opening ceremony and for your gracious patronage of the conference. I also extend my thanks to our partners for their participation in this special event, as well as to the organising company, the high committee of the conference, and the sponsors for their excellent preparation and organisation.
I look forward to witnessing a successful and fruitful conference, wishing our esteemed guests a pleasant stay, and wishing our beloved Egypt all the best and progress.
Thank you, and peace be upon you.
