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Despite the political upheaval that led to the ouster of its long-time president, Hosni Mubarak, and the replacement of its Minister of Petroleum, Sameh Fahmi, Egypt has benefited from a period of renewal on the energy front. During the global financial crisis, Egypt flexed its competitive muscles and attracted a flurry of foreign direct investments geared to satisfy the country’s surging demand for fossil fuels.
The Ministry of Petroleum negotiated 17 new petroleum agreements in recent years worth approximately $3.3 billion. Egypt does not share the enormous oil reserves of its MENA region neighbours – its production peaked at 935,000 bpd in 1996 and output has declined gradually since, despite a slight increase in 2009. Nevertheless, international oil companies remain confident in Egypt’s remaining potential.
A total of 39 operators currently hold concessions on the Nile Delta and Mediterranean Sea. OPEC predicts that the market’s production will dwindle to 600,000 bpd in 2014, a sign that the country’s prosperity hinges upon ongoing exploration campaigns.
To learn more about how Egypt plans to overcome its surmounting challenges, read The Oil & Gas Year, Egypt 2010.