Upon closing of the transaction, BG will become the operator of the block in the Mediterranean Sea
Shell to acquire North East El-Amriya concession offshore Egypt (Credit: Jethro Carullo on Unsplash)
Shell, through its subsidiary BG International, has signed a farm out agreement (FOA) with ExxonMobil Egypt to fully acquire the North East El-Amriya offshore area, also known as Block 3.
Upon closing of the transaction, which is subject to government and regulatory approvals, BG will become the operator of the block in the Mediterranean Sea.
Egypt 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, BG Delta, a wholly-owned entity of Shell, acquired North Sidi Gaber Concession (Block 4) and North Al Fanar Concession (Block 6) in the West Nile Delta, in partnership with PICL (Egypt).
Shell vice president and country chair for Egypt, Khaled Kacem said: “I am pleased to conclude this agreement, which demonstrates Shell’s deep commitment to Egypt.
“This agreement strengthens our portfolio in the offshore and supports our strategy to build a solid gas position in the country.
“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. We have plans to potentially begin drilling of the first well during the first half of 2023.”
In April this year, Shell Brasil Petróleo (Shell Brasil), a subsidiary of Shell, signed the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) to acquire a 25% percent stake of the Atapu field for $1.1bn.