Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Kareem Badawi
The committee is responsible for reviewing and discussing the new government’s program.
Badawi added that by 2030, Egypt will have invested $7.2 billion to drill 586 exploratory gas and oil wells.
“We are also launching international bids through the Egypt Exploration and Production Gateway, which focuses on making data on new areas of exploration available digitally to partners throughout the year,” he said.
“Our top priority is to continue coordination and cooperation with the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy to provide the necessary fuel supplies to operate power stations,” Badawi explained.
He noted that Egypt coordinates with foreign partners to schedule and pay off overdue payments to encourage them to inject more investments to increase oil and gas production as quickly as possible.
In addition, Badawi highlighted that the ministry focuses on creating incentive mechanisms to boost production programs and expedite exploration programs to benefit all parties.
“Because climate action and energy transition have become essential to Egypt’s sustainable development strategy, the ministry strives to take due consideration of the environmental aspects of its activities,” he noted.
Rebuilding trust
Badawi stressed that oil and natural gas production from current fields has decreased by up to 25 percent over the past three years, while the value of overdue payments to foreign partners has risen, leading to slower exploration and development plans and increasing the need to import to bridge the gap between production and consumption.
“We are working to rebuild trust with partners by agreeing to settle overdue payments in exchange for continued essential investments in exploration and development activities. As part of the national energy mix diversification program, we focus on increasing natural gas production to enhance reliance on clean energy sources,” he explained.
Increasing production and maximizing capacities
“We are currently considering adding another floating storage and regasification unit in Ain Sokhna, with the possibility of using the existing liquefaction facilities in Damietta and Idku in reverse in line with the subsidiary program’s goals of developing the petrochemical industry,” Badawi noted.
He added that the ministry is working on maximizing consumption efficiency and increasing production system efficiency to reduce the cost per barrel, thus creating a sustainable investment environment for partners and investors.
In addition, Badawi highlighted that the ministry was coordinating with the government to reach fair prices for petroleum products.
Similarly, he noted that projects to increase petrochemical manufacturing capacities to 170 percent of current design capacities are underway.
Badawi also stressed that the ministry is developing mechanisms to utilize excess production capacities and offer them to current and new investors and that it was collaborating with regional neighbouring countries to maximize the use of these capacities at the country and company levels, thereby enhancing Egypt’s role as a regional energy hub.
“We plan to increase Egypt’s exports of petroleum products from refining and petrochemical projects to reduce the trade deficit and reach export values of $8.6 billion,” he explained.
Gold production
Badawi indicated that current gold production in the fiscal year 2023/2024 amounted to 559,000 ounces, noting that Egypt expects to increase its gold production to 800,000 ounces by 2030.
He also highlighted that Egypt’s production of mineral ores exceeded 17 million tons and that the government expects to increase production of mineral ores to 30 million tons by 2030.
Green Economy
“We are working on injecting $2 billion investments to establish projects that improve energy consumption efficiency and reduce carbon emissions by 2.5 million tons annually by 2030,” Badawi stated.
In addition, he explained that efforts are underway to address challenges in establishing these projects by enhancing cooperation with various entities to secure available concessional financing from financial institutions and international bodies.
Badawi also noted that the ministry is focused on finding unconventional sources to finance these projects, including carbon credits and others.
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