Shell Egypt and Shell Austria, subsidiaries of Royal Dutch Shell, have completed the sale of their upstream assets in Egypt’s Western Desert to a consortium made up of subsidiaries of Cheiron Petroleum Corporation and Cairn Energy for $646m and additional payments of up to $280m between 2021 and 2024, contingent on the oil price and the results of further exploration.
The sale was announced on 9 March 2021, and the transaction’s effective date was 1 January 2020. Completion follows receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals.
“This transaction is in line with our plan to reshape our opstream portfolio into one that is more focused, more resilient and more competitive to play a vital role in our Powering Progress strategy. In Egypt, this includes our continued commitment to delivering value and supply across our gas value chain, such as our interests in the West Delta Deep Marine and in Midstream through our Egyptian LNG joint-venture,” said Wael Sawan, Shell’s Upstream Director.
Khaled Kacem, Shell’s Vice President and Country Chair for Egypt, said, “I would like to pay tribute to all our staff, stakeholders and authorities who have contributed to the successful completion of this deal. We are proud of our long history in Egypt. We have been active in the country for 110 years and we remain one of the few integrated energy companies with a presence in the full value chain.”
With this transaction Shell is refocusing its business in Egypt on our existing infrastructure position. In addition to West Delta Deep Marine and Egyptian LNG joint-venture this includes the Harmattan Deep Project and Exploration acreage in the new seven blocks in the Nile Delta, West Mediterranean and the Red Sea, and in Downstream through Shell Lubricants Egypt.
