Egypt's diversified geological composition and its strong local market of about 100 million people offer competitive edges for oil-and-gas sector investments, BP Country Manager Nader Zaki said at Al-Ahram's first energy conference on Monday. The various gas fields in Egypt are of different geological compositions, which is not found anywhere in the world, Zaki said, speaking at a panel discussion during the conference.
Egypt also offers legislative stability, Zaki said, adding that this is why BP did not pull out of Egypt following 2011.
This, in addition to the country's infrastructure investments and facilities on land and at sea, along with the human factor.
BP has already doubled its investments in gas compared to 2014, a target that was initially set for 2020, Zaki said.
Private-sector company representatives taking part in the panel on Monday said they are working with the Egyptian government to develop the oil and gas sector.
“Our mission is to be a partner of the electricity and petroleum ministries for the generation and export of energy,” ABB Egypt chairman Naji Jreijiri said.
The Swiss automation solutions company exports 15 percent of its production to Africa.
Separately, Siemens representative Emad Zaki said the Ataqa power plant was the fastest open-cycle project to be completed in the world, with work on the project completed within five months.
On the three Siemens power plants, Zaki said 14,400 MW will be linked to the national grid by mid-2018.
In January of this year, 4,800 MW were linked to the national grid from the project.
Also, Shell's Managing Director Gasser Hanter praised the government discourse in speaking of "energy" rather than electricity or oil separately, a policy that attracts investors.
“Infrastructure investments give Egypt a competitive edge,” Hantar added.
Shell, which owns Idku liquefaction plant, is a partner with Egypt and is working closely on developing the sector to turn Egypt into an energy hub, Hantar said.
