Qatar Energy expands Egypt presence: Qatar Energy has inked an agreement with US oil and gas giant Chevron to acquire a 23% operational stake in the Mediterranean’s North El Dabaa Block, according to a company statement. Chevron — the operator of the concession — will retain a 40% share, while oil and gas developer Woodside and the Egyptian state-owned Tharwa Petroleum hold 27% and 10% stakes, respectively. The company did not disclose the value of the transaction.

The company is already gearing up for new exploration works: “We look forward to the drilling of the first exploration well on this block,” the statement quotes company CEO and Qatari Energy Minister Saad Sherida Al Kaabi as saying.

Qatar Energy is already a sizable player in the country’s oil and gas sector: The Qatari state-owned energy company is a regular feature in Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company’s bidding rounds for exploration blocks . Among its Egypt assets are a recently inked a farm-in agreement with ExxonMobil to acquire a 40% interest in the oil major’s Cairo and Masry offshore concessions and a 40% of the Mediterranean’s North Marakia offshore concession.

Remember: The Oil Ministry is on a mission to increase output and attract investment in a bid to close the costly gap between growing local demand and shrinking local production. Egypt has cleared USD 3.5 bn in arrears to foreign hydrocarbon players since March, marking a 77.8% reduction in the government’s outstanding arrears over a seven-month period by our math, to persuade foreign oil companies to up their presence here. The ministry has also been offering new incentives to energy players that include increasing production sharing ratios with foreign companies in exchange for new investments, enhancing exploration efforts, and increasing extraction rates.

The news also caught the attention of the int’l press: Reuters.

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