Eng. Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, met with Mr. Cedric Cremers, President of Integrated Gas at Shell, to discuss enhancing ongoing cooperation in the natural gas sector. The meeting was attended by Ms. Dalia ElGabry, VP and Country Chair of Shell Egypt, and several senior ministry officials.
The Minister emphasized that the partnership with Shell is undergoing a qualitative shift to support Egypt's efforts in accelerating natural gas exploration and production, in light of an ambitious work program implemented by the company in Egypt, aimed at increasing domestic production and reducing the gas import bill.
The Minister pointed out that this cooperation gains additional significance in light of the historic step of signing the governmental agreement to accelerate the development of the Cypriot Aphrodite field and connect it to Egyptian infrastructure. This project, involving Shell alongside Chevron, bolsters Egypt's role as a regional hub for gas trade, while opening new horizons for cooperation between Egypt, Cyprus, and their partners. He emphasized that Egypt remains committed to its efforts to drive and enhance integration with Cyprus and Greece, maximizing the utilization of gas resources, infrastructure, and geographical location to achieve mutual benefit.
The Minister also asserted that Egypt's commitment to settling partners' dues serves as a positive message reflecting seriousness in creating an attractive investment environment, which in turn supports pumping new investments into gas exploration and production.
On his part, Mr. Cedric Cremers highlighted that the successes in increasing production in Egypt have bolstered Shell's desire to execute ambitious work programs and inject further investments, pointing out that Egypt represents one of the company's key success stories.
Cremers congratulated the Minister on the Aphrodite field agreement, praising the Egyptian efforts exerted to work with all parties and drive the project forward.
He also expressed his satisfaction with the steps Egypt is taking to maximize the utilization of Idku LNG plant. He added that Shell, as a major partner to Egypt in the LNG industry, sees a promising future for the country in this sector, particularly given the regional connectivity efforts and the maximization of gas resources in the East Mediterranean.
Minister of Petroleum During Shell Metting -2
