NOOZZ CAIRO: Officials at international energy companies operating in Egypt have raised complaints about the sluggish pace of final approvals on agreements with the Egyptian government, warning that such sluggishness could affect their plans for oil and gas exploration efforts. One official noted that though Egypt accounts for the highest average of approvals compared with neighboring countries, but his company had to wait for 18 months before obtaining final approval from the Ministry of Petroleum on a concession area. "This delay had a negative impact on our plan for exploration, he said. Despite the lack of an independent assessment on the average time required for final approval on concession agreements in Egypt, informed sources estimate this period at twelve months. The Egyptian Petroleum Sector has sealed about 77 exploration agreements over the past three years, hitting an all-time record for the Egyptian energy industry with combined investments of about $2.5 billion (over LE 14 billion) and total concession areas of 310 square kilometers. Zainul Rahim of Shell Egypt said the Ministry of Petroleum had increased the pace of agreements with international companies in line with the minister's policy of encouraging international investments in the industry. Rahim also stressed the need to take into account the different circumstances in every market when comparing the time needed for approval on exploration agreements.
