Egypt Seeks to Strengthen Energy Ties with UAE's Dana Gas

Engineer Karim Badawi, Egypt's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, affirmed his country's keenness to enhance cooperation with Emirati companies operating in the energy sector, and to provide a stable and attractive investment environment that supports the expansion of their investments in Egypt, contributing to increasing oil and gas production and achieving mutual interests. This came during his reception of Richard Hall, CEO of Dana Gas, an Emirati company, to discuss the company's activities in Egypt and its plans to expand exploration, research, and production operations, and to increase natural gas production rates from its concession areas in the onshore Nile Delta. The Egyptian minister affirmed his government's commitment to providing a stable and attractive investment environment, supporting the acceleration of drilling, exploration, and development programs, increasing production from existing fields, and expediting the placement of new discoveries on the production map. Badawi also emphasized Egypt's pride in the extended strategic partnership with Dana Gas, and the ministry's continued provision of all forms of support to partners and efforts to overcome challenges. He added that the ministry is expanding the application of the latest technologies in production operations, foremost among them horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, given their proven efficiency in raising production rates and maximizing the utilization of reserves, achieving added value for all parties. Richard Hall, CEO of Dana Gas, expressed his appreciation for the support provided by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and its affiliated entities, noting that the company achieved outstanding results in the latest drilling programs, which contributed to increasing its proven gas reserves by between 20 and 25 percent, prompting it to add two new wells to its exploration program, aiming to accelerate the pace of production and maximize the utilization of the promising potential of the company's concession areas in Egypt. Hall expressed his confidence in the future of the Egyptian petroleum sector, praising the development in the investment environment.