Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi, has met with Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi, and Algeria’s Minister of Energy and Mines, Mohamed Arkab to discuss increased cooperation and investment in the energy sector, particularly focusing on exploration and production.
The meetings took place on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) in Kuwait.
Discussions between the Qatari and Egyptian ministers centred on strengthening bilateral energy ties and highlighting investment opportunities within Egypt, especially in oil and gas exploration and discovery. This aligns with the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum’s strategy to attract investment and encourage companies to explore promising areas to develop petroleum resources and increase production.
Qatar Energy reaffirmed the importance of its investments in Egypt’s oil and gas sector through partnerships with international companies across various exploration sites in the Mediterranean and Red Seas. These include new drilling operations in the western Mediterranean. The company stated its optimism about positive results, citing promising hydrocarbon potential and a favourable outlook for these ventures.
Separately, Minister Badawi and Algeria’s Minister of Energy and Mines, Arkab, explored potential areas of mutual collaboration. The meeting was attended by key figures, including the Undersecretary for Agreements and Exploration, the CEO of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, and the Ministry Spokesperson.
The discussions with Arkab concentrated on strengthening bilateral cooperation between Egypt and Algeria, particularly in energy, renewable energy, knowledge exchange, and capacity building. This follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2022 to promote collaboration in gas, oil, and mining.
The Algerian Minister praised the productive collaboration between Egyptian and Algerian companies, such as Petrojet and Sonatrach. He also invited Egyptian companies to capitalise on opportunities within the Algerian energy sector, specifically in exploration, field development, refining, petrochemicals, natural gas and LPG marketing, and hydrogen production. Mr Arkab highlighted Algeria’s new hydrocarbon law, which he said offered significant benefits for investors.
The ministers also discussed potential collaboration in the mining sector, with a focus on phosphate processing, fertilizer production, and the exchange of expertise and data.
Minister Badawi underscored the strong and ongoing relationship between the two countries in the energy sector. He expressed a keen interest in building on past collaborative successes and translating these achievements into further joint ventures. This, he said, would maximise the benefits of both nations’ resources and developed infrastructure.
Both sides agreed to continue the dialogue bilaterally and regionally, within the framework of their memberships in OAPEC and the Gas Exporting Countries Forum.
