Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Mulla told Daily News Egypt that the Ministry of Petroleum is seeking to implement 12 projects to develop gas fields at a cost of $17.5bn, next to completing eight refining projects with investments of $8.3bn, which will be completed within four years.
He added that a new bid for gold exploration and excavation in a number of areas in the Eastern Desert will be offered before the end of the current year.
He explained that the Ministry of Petroleum aims to develop the mineral wealth sector through the development of new strategies to increase the value added, and the increase of the sector’s contribution to the national economy to match the mining markets regionally and globally.
In July, the Ministry of Petroleum announced the win of four companies in the bid issued by the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority (EMRA) for gold exploration in five sites in the Eastern Desert.
The result of the auction included the award of the Bukari and Um Samra concessions to Resolute Egypt Limited, Britain’s Veritas Mining Limited for the Um El Ros concession, Ghassan Spain Investment for Dahab, and Egypt’s East Gas Company won a concession of Um Oud and Hangalia.
El Mulla added that the fields of Zohr, northern Alexandria, and Noras are among the most important projects that will increase natural gas production by 50% in the coming year and will contribute to achieving self-sufficiency of natural gas by the end of 2018 and will achieve an increase in gas production by 100% in 2020.
The minister said that Egypt is serious in its desire to become a pivotal hub for energy trading, so as to make the oil sector strategy a main part of the development project to match the integrated vision of energy in Egypt until 2035.
He added that the strategy of the sector is to increase the production and reserves of crude oil and gas, to secure the country’s needs of petroleum products and natural gas, to expand natural gas delivery projects for homes, factories, and the petrochemical industry to maximise value added.
