Arab Finance: Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi held an expanded meeting to review key performance indicators across the exploration, production, and refining sectors, according to a statement.
Badawi highlighted the ministry’s reforms and incentives over the past two years, particularly the timely settlement of dues owed to foreign investment partners. These measures helped restore investor confidence and encouraged international companies to expand investments and accelerate exploration and production programs, the minister added.
The meeting outlined the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation’s (EGPC) five-year plan to expand exploration activities, building on the enhanced investment climate and regular payment of partners’ dues.
EGPC aims to introduce new contractual frameworks that will reduce the time required to drill wells and accelerate exploration programs to achieve results more quickly. This is in addition to increasing exploration and production activities by around 20% in 2026.
As for the refining sector, Badawi pointed out that crude oil availability for refineries, coupled with efficiency-enhancement and development projects, contributed to boosting refinery utilization rates to over 80% by the end of this year.
Higher utilization has contributed to increasing domestic petroleum product output, reducing the country’s dollar-denominated import bill, and lowering diesel import volumes.
Talks also reviewed progress on the Mellaha gas plant in the Western Desert, which is scheduled to begin operations next month. The facility is expected to produce around 100 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (MMcf/d).
The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) underlined its future plans for exploration and production, which aim to add more natural gas reserves over the next five years. This will reinforce the reserve base, raise production, and meet the needs of the local market.
Meanwhile, the South Valley Egyptian Holding Petroleum Company (Ganope) outlined plans to expand exploration and production activities, including integrating the Baraka development area, assessing new exploration blocks, and conducting seismic surveys in the southern Western Desert.
Ganope said its production has reached its highest level on record and is targeting approximately $250 million in investments over the next five years. The planned investments are expected to support higher production and maximize the exploration potential of the company’s operating areas.
As part of the petroleum sector's efforts to maximize asset utilization, the EGPC reviewed several new initiatives focused on digitalization and operational efficiency. These involve establishing an electronic portal to facilitate the utilization of surplus project assets and unused equipment.
The EGPC also reviewed plans to launch a digital platform for environmental performance indicators, which will enable regular monitoring of companies’ environmental performance.
