QatarEnergy entered into agreements with Shell to buy stakes in two exploration blocks offshore Egypt in the Red Sea.
Under the terms of the agreements, which are subject to customary approvals by the government of Egypt, QatarEnergy would hold a 17 percent working interest in Red Sea Blocks 3 and 4, the state-owned LNG giant said on Monday.
Shell won both blocks in late 2019. Block 3 covers an area of 3,097 square kilometers in water depths of 100 to 1,000 meters while Block 4 covers an area of 3,084 square kilometers in water depths of 150 to 500 meters.
Upon closing of the relevant agreements, Shell would have a 43 percent interest in Block 3 and remain the operator. Also, BHP would have a 30 percent interest, Tharwa Petroleum 10 percent, and QatarEnergy 17 percent.
As per Block 4, Shell would have an operating interest of 21 percent while Mubadala would hold 27 percent, BHP 25 percent, Tharwa Petroleum 10 percent, and QatarEnergy 17 percent.
“We are pleased with this important development, as it represents QatarEnergy’s entry into the Arab Republic of Egypt’s well-established upstream oil and gas sector and offers an opportunity for the consortium partners to explore this frontier acreage,” Qatar’s energy minister and chief executive of QatarEnergy, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, said.
This new move follows QatarEnergy’s announcement with US player ExxonMobil regarding a new block offshore Cyprus, located southwest of the island.
A consortium comprising of units of the two firms signed an exploration and production sharing contract with Cyprus for the offshore Block 5.