The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El-Molla, discussed with the United Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, Francis Fannon, ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in oil and natural gas sectors, in the light of the investment opportunities that Egypt offers. On the sidelines of his participation in CERAWeek event in Houston, US, El-Molla reviewed the steps Egypt has taken to transform into a regional hub for natural gas, which provides more investment opportunities and achieves mutual benefits between countries and optimal utilisation of the high gas potential of the east Mediterranean. As for Fannon, he praised Egypt's remarkable achievements in the oil and gas industries, and the investment reforms it has implemented on all levels, which drove US companies to increase their investments in Egypt. He asserted that Egypt has played a vital role in developing the natural gas resources in the Middle East, given the megaprojects it implements in this field, supported by its outstanding infrastructure to trade and supply natural gas. During a meeting organised by the US Chamber of Commerce and Apache company, El-Molla reviewed the available opportunities after the investment atmosphere stabilised, and reached the highest level of energy, security, and sustainable development in Egypt, and transformed the challenges in the petroleum sector into distinct opportunities before global companies, as part of Egypt Vision 2030 for sustainable development. The petroleum sector contributes to Egypt's GDP by 25%, while foreign investment contributes by 44%. On the other hand, El-Molla inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Halliburton company to improve the manpower capacity in the petroleum sector, which will provide young leaders with training programmes, in the framework of oil sector development and a modernisation project. Halliburton Executive Director, Jeff Miller, affirmed that the company has been working in Egypt for more than 50 years, stressing that the MoU is a solid proof that Halliburton is keen on developing its work in Egypt. El-Molla met also with Apache CEO, John Christmann, where they discussed Apache's activities in Egypt in the field of petroleum, as the company is working on gas exploration in the Western Desert region. They also discussed opportunities to inject new investments in this field. The minister also met with OPEC Secretary General, Mohammed Barkindo, along with the UAE Minister of Energy, Suhail Al-Mazroui, to discuss the developments in the petroleum market and global oil prices, where El-Molla stressed Egypt's support to OPEC and non-OPEC countries' efforts and initiatives to achieve market sustainability and to balance between supply and demand, which will positively affect the interests of all parties in the petroleum industry.
