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BP, Shell, RWE in Egypt tie-up
Evening Standard 20 Mar 2008
Oil and gas majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell have joined German utility RWE in agreeing to spend $950 million (£475 million) on oil and gas exploration off the coast of Egypt.
Cairo is seeking to ramp up output to take advantage of soaring energy prices.
BP and RWE will explore together in two deep-water areas north of Alexandria, and promised to spend $800 million on drilling and surveying.
Shell will spend at least $45 million on exploring north of Damietta, the Egyptian energy ministry says.
The three companies will pay the government bonuses totalling $105 million on signing the agreement.
Egypt, Africa's second-largest gas producer after Algeria, aims to double its exports to 1.2 trillion cubic feet a year by 2011.
Just this week BP and a subsidiary of Italian firm ENI found a potential one trillion cubic feet of reserves.
Senior officials from Russia and Egypt are in talks that could end in Gazprom's entry to the country. Russia's Novatek and Lukoil are already working there.
