QatarEnergy buys stakes in Egypt blocks from Shell

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.

Most Popular

Yang Ming books LNG-powered containerships in South Korea

Taiwan’s Yang Ming Marine Transport has decided to order LNG dual-fuel container vessels from South Korea's Hanwha Ocean as part of its ongoing fleet optimization plan.

Sabah to take stake in Petronas’ third FLNG

SMJ Energy, owned by the Sabah government, has signed a heads of agreement with Malaysian energy giant Petronas to take a 25 percent stake in the latter's third floating LNG production unit.

Japan’s LNG imports drop in June

Japan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports dropped by 2.8 percent in June compared to the same month last year, according to provisional data released by the country’s Ministry of Finance.

More News Like This

South Korea gets first LNG Canada cargo

The 174,000-cbm GasLog Glasgow, which is carrying the first liquefied natural gas cargo produced at the Shell-led LNG Canada facility in Kitimat, has arrived in Tongyeong, South Korea, according to shipping data.

LNG Canada to send third cargo

Shell-led LNG Canada is expected to soon ship the third cargo of liquefied natural gas from the Kitimat facility, according to shipping data.

Victrol: LNG London hits bunkering milestone

The Shell-chartered inland bunkering vessel LNG London, owned by a joint venture of Belgium's Victrol and France's Sogestran, has reached a new operational milestone.

Monadelphous scores new LNG contracts

Australian engineering firm Monadelphous has secured contracts for Shell's Crux natural gas project offshore Western Australia and the Australia Pacific LNG project in Queensland.