The statement came during a meeting between President El-Sisi and a delegation from ExxonMobil, led by Ardil Küçükkaya, to review the company’s ongoing exploration activities across Egypt’s onshore and offshore territories.
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi reaffirmed the government’s commitment to settling all outstanding payments owed to foreign partners in the oil and gas sectors within the next few months, underscoring Egypt’s determination to maintain investor confidence and support ongoing energy projects.
The statement came during a meeting between President El-Sisi and a delegation from ExxonMobil, led by Vice President responsible for Global Frontier Exploration at ExxonMobil John Ardil, to review the company’s ongoing exploration activities across Egypt’s onshore and offshore territories.
El-Sisi praised the company’s efforts as one of Egypt’s key strategic partners in the energy sector, emphasizing the state’s commitment to strengthening and expanding cooperation with ExxonMobil and other companies operating in or considering entry into the Egyptian market.
The President also outlined the government’s broader efforts to enhance Egypt’s regional and global standing in the energy sector by promoting partnerships and advancing policy reforms aimed at creating a more attractive business environment for both domestic and foreign investment.
For its part, the ExxonMobil delegation confirmed that the company will continue exploration activities in partnership with QatarEnergy, focusing on deepwater operations in the Mediterranean under the two concession areas granted to the companies, Cairo and Masry, with accelerated efforts to identify new natural gas resources that could support Egypt’s economic growth.
The delegation added that the two companies are planning to launch a drilling program in the eastern Mediterranean by the end of this year, starting with an exploratory well in the Cairo and Masry offshore blocks.
Preparations are currently underway to contract a drilling vessel to carry out the operation.
In the same context, the delegation reviewed future plans related to major discoveries in the neighboring Cypriot fields of Glaucus and Pegasus in Block 10, including proposals to develop gas production using an innovative concept that would transport gas to Egypt for liquefaction, an approach expected to deliver mutual benefits to both countries and investors.
President El-Sisi reiterated the government’s readiness to remove any obstacles that could hinder these efforts, expressing confidence in the company’s ability to achieve significant discoveries in the near term.
He stressed that new natural gas discoveries remain a strategic priority for Egypt, particularly in light of current geopolitical challenges and their implications for energy security.
