Egypt signs $452.3 mln oil and gas deals

Egyptian Oil Minister Tarek el-Molla has signed nine offshore oil and gas exploration and production deals worth a total of at least $452.3 million, the ministry said on Monday.

The deals include the drilling of 38 wells and a signing bonus of $84 million, the ministry said in a statement, and are the result of a tender called by Egyptian state gas board EGAS. They are all in exploration blocks in the Egyptian Mediterranean Sea and the Western Desert.

The first deal, signed with Royal Dutch Shell, is worth at least $24.5 million for an exploration block in East Horus in Western Desert. It includes the drilling of five wells and a signing bonus worth $23 million.

As for the second deal, it was also signed with Shell, worth at least $7.8 billion for an exploration block in Abu Senan in Western Desert. It includes the drilling of three wells and a signing bonus worth $1 million.

The third, with Shell too, is in West Fayoum block in Western Desert and worth at least $24.7 million, including the drilling of six wells and a signing bonus worth $27 million.

The fourth, with Shell, is in Badr 2 and Badr 17 blocks in Western Desert and worth at least $60 million, including the drilling of nine wells and a signing bonus of $10 million.

The fifth, with Apache, is in West Kanayes block in Western Desert and worth at least $5.5 million. It includes the drilling of two wells and a signing bonus of $4 million.

The sixth, with Apache too, is in West Kalabsha block in Western Desert and worth at least $20.8 million. It includes the drilling of 8 wells and a signing bonus of $6 million.

The seventh, with a consortium of Shell and Malaysia’s Petronas, is in El Fanar block off the Mediterranean Sea and worth at least $129 million. It includes the drilling of two wells and a signing bonus of $3 billion.

The eighth, with the Shell-Petronas consortium, is in North Sidi Gaber block off the Mediterranean Sea and worth at least $180 million. It includes the drilling of three wells and a signing bonus of $10 million.

The ninth and last deal, signed with a consortium of BP and Shell, aimed to amend the pricing of gas in El Borg concession off the Mediterranean Sea.