Cairo – Mubasher: British oil giant BP is looking to invest $2 billion into developing its oil and gas fields in Egypt next year, the company’s North Africa regional president said.
The London-based company has pumped nearly $4 billion and $2.5 billion in the most populous Arab country during 2017 and 2018, respectively, Hesham Mekkawy told local newspaper Al Shorouk.
Mekkawy stressed that the company is expediting production from the second phase of the West Nile Delta five-field gas development.
Gas output at the fields of Giza and Fayoum is set to commence prior to the end of 2018, while Raven field is expected to come online in 2019, he added.
He projected Baltim South West field to start gas production in the second half of 2019.
Egypt is seeking to turn into a regional energy hub on the back of recent discoveries, following the demarcation of its sea borders with a number of countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Cyprus.
In August, Egyptian petroleum minister Tarek El-Molla had signed three deals for gas and oil exploration in the Mediterranean, the Western Desert, and the Nile Delta with around $139.2 million in investments, in addition to a $55 million signing bonus to drill 15 new wells.
