Investment firm The Carlyle Group plans to invest heavily in Egypt’s oil and gas industry to boost domestic production and position the country as an energy hub in the Mediterranean.
Carlyle executives were in Egypt this week to meet with Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, to discuss the company’s plans for Egypt and the Mediterranean region, following the company’s announcement last week of asset acquisitions in the region.
Carlyle announced a week ago that it had agreed to acquire a portfolio of gas-focused exploration and production (E&P) assets in Italy, Egypt and Croatia from Energian, a London-based company focused on resource development in the Mediterranean.
The transaction will provide Carlyle with a diversified portfolio of strategic gas-focused assets with production of 47,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and planned operations in Italy, Egypt and Croatia. These assets are well-advanced, large-scale developments in markets that support new gas developments. The portfolio Carlyle is acquiring includes interests in Cassiopeia, Italy’s largest gas field by reserves, and Aboukir, one of Egypt’s largest gas production sites.
“We look forward to helping transform these assets into a scalable E&P platform in the Mediterranean through near-term development execution, exploiting organic growth opportunities, M&A and accelerating the delivery of existing decarbonization plans,” said Bob Maguire, co-head of Carlyle International Energy Partners.
In meetings with Egyptian officials this week, Carlyle representatives said the North African country offered attractive investment opportunities and that Carlyle intended to use advanced technologies for its deep-sea exploration activities.
Carlyle plans to increase oil and gas production in Egypt and turn the country into a reception and distribution hub for the group’s production in the Mediterranean.
Egypt, meanwhile, is now considering importing its biggest LNG cargoes in years in the coming months to ease strain on its power grid and industry amid energy shortages that led to rolling blackouts this summer.
Article by Tsvetana Paraskova from Oilprice.com
Other popular articles from Oilprice.com:
