ExxonMobil on Tuesday signed a letter of intent with Egypt's state-run EGAS to expand natural gas exploration in the Mediterranean, including a new offshore concession west of the giant Zohr field near the Cypriot border. According to a statement from Egypt's petroleum ministry, the agreement was signed on the sidelines of the ADIPEC 2025 energy conference in Abu Dhabi, in the presence of Petroleum Minister Karim Badawy and ExxonMobil Vice President for Global Exploration John Ardill. The new investment will raise ExxonMobil's total number of offshore exploration areas in Egypt to four, underscoring the company's confidence in the country's investment climate and the promising prospects of the Eastern Mediterranean, the ministry said. Badawy said the deal supports Egypt's strategy to boost oil and gas output, intensify exploration and drilling, and attract more foreign investment. He added that expanding exploration in frontier areas complements efforts to strengthen Egypt's gas infrastructure and position the country as a regional hub for gas trade and transit. ExxonMobil plans to drill new exploratory gas wells in the two blocks, Masry and Cairo, offshore Egypt, located in the outer Nile Delta, the statement said. Both sides also discussed accelerating exploration work under Egypt's new profitability-based contract model (R-Factor System), designed to attract investment in deepwater and high-risk areas. The two officials reviewed progress in the North Marakia offshore concession, where ExxonMobil made the Nefertari-1 discovery, and agreed to expedite development to bring the find into production soon. Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English Subediting: Y.Yasser
