Shell to acquire Exxon’s concession offshore Egypt

Shell, through its subsidiary BG International, has agreed to acquire a 100% stake in the North East El-Amriya offshore area in Egypt, also known as block three, from ExxonMobil Egypt.

Shell Egypt vice-president and country chair Khaled Kacem said the agreement will strengthens its offshore portfolio while supporting its strategy to build a solid gas position in Egypt.

Kacem said: “The proximity of this block to our existing assets and other exploration blocks Shell holds in the area will help us accelerate our offshore ambitions.”

Shell is planning to start drilling the first well during the first half of next year.

“We have significantly enhanced our presence in the offshore Mediterranean over the last three years and acquiring this new block is an important milestone towards achieving our growth strategy,” Kacem noted.

The transaction is subject to government and regulatory approval. The financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.

Upon completion of the deal, BG will become the operator of the block in the Mediterranean Sea.

Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla said: “This is an important development which demonstrates the vibrancy and competitiveness of Egypt’s oil and gas sector.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with our partner Shell, which has a long history of working in the oil and gas sector, to further develop Egypt’s offshore hydrocarbon resources.”

In 2020, Shell’s wholly-owned entity BG Delta, in partnership with PICL (Egypt), purchased the North Sidi Gaber Concession (block four) and the North Al Fanar Concession (block six) in the West Nile Delta.

BG Delta serves as the operator of the two blocks, for which seismic has been acquired and portfolio maturation is being carried out.

Earlier this month, Shell announced that it would divest its Russian retail and lubricants businesses to Lukoil.

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