ExxonMobil and Egypt have signed two oil and fuel exploration offers within the Eastern Mediterranean, the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum mentioned, weeks after Exxon mentioned it had secured exploration acreage offshore Egypt.
The two exploration offers name for a complete funding of no less than US$332 million, based on an announcement from Egypt’s petroleum ministry, carried by Reuters.
At the top of 2019, ExxonMobil mentioned that it had acquired greater than 1.7 million acres offshore Egypt, including upstream pursuits to its downstream enterprise within the nation.
Exxon purchased the 1.2-million-acre North Marakia Offshore block, 5 miles offshore Egypt’s northern coast and 543,000 acres within the North East El Amriya Offshore block within the Nile Delta. ExxonMobil, which would be the operator of each blocks with 100-percent curiosity, plans to start out exploration operations this yr.
“These awards strengthen our exploration portfolio within the Eastern Mediterranean,” Mike Cousins, senior vice chairman of exploration and new ventures at ExxonMobil, mentioned in an announcement on the finish of December.
Last yr, Exxon made a pure fuel discovery on the Glaucus-1 effectively in a block offshore Cyprus.
Offshore Egypt, the invention of the large Zohr fuel subject in 2015 has sparked curiosity in additional exploration within the Mediterranean.
Exxon’s foray into Egypt’s upstream comes at a time of heightened tensions within the Eastern Mediterranean, the place Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus are at odds over Turkey’s declare to pure fuel assets just lately found offshore Cyprus.
Turkey will proceed exploring for oil and fuel within the jap Mediterranean waters round disputed Cyprus, and “No challenge will be realised if Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus aren’t concerned,” Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an mentioned in August final yr.
Since then, Ankara has been shifting ahead with its drilling plans regardless of criticism from not simply Cyprus but in addition Greece and the European Union. Earlier this month, the EU warned Turkey to rethink its drilling plans after Erdogan mentioned drilling would begin “as quickly as doable.” The EU additionally referred to as these exploration plans unlawful.