Eng. Tarek El-Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, signed a new oil and gas exploration agreement in the Gulf of Suez, between Ganoub El Wadi Petroleum Holding Co (Ganope) and Egypt’s Trident Petroleum Company. The exploration agreement for Block 6 Northwest Seabird (Tair al-Bahr) concession in the Gulf of Suez, covering a 191 square kilometer area, specifies a minimum investment obligation of $4.5 million, the drilling of six exploratory wells and a signing bonus of $500,000.
Eng. El-Molla signed the agreement with Geol. Abu Bakr Ibrahim, Chairman of Ganope, and Geol. Ihab Awad, Chairman of Egyptian Company Trident Petroleum. The agreement is a result of the recent international bid round awards carried out by Ganope, El-Molla said, with the aim of increasing new investments and intensifying exploration activities to increase oil reserves and production in order to meet domestic market needs.
Eng. El-Molla said that the signing of new agreements despite the drop in global oil prices sends out a positive message that Egypt is still an attractive destination for investment in the oil and gas sector.
Eng. El-Molla added that the Gulf of Suez is still showing encouraging prospects for oil investment in the light of the latest developments in research, studies, modern techniques and technologies used in all sectors.
