The Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC 2025) witnessed the signing of a new Memorandum of Intent (MOI) between the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and the global company ExxonMobil. The signing was attended by Engineer Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, and Dr. John Ardell, Vice President of Exploration, marking an expansion of natural gas exploration and search activities in the Mediterranean Sea.

Under the MOI, ExxonMobil intends to invest in a new concession area located west of the giant "Zohr" field on the border with Cyprus. This move strengthens the company's presence in Egypt, raising the number of its offshore operating areas to four. This reflects the increasing confidence of major international companies in the attractive investment environment of the Egyptian petroleum sector and the promising opportunities offered by the Eastern Mediterranean.

This expansion aligns with the first pillar of the Ministry of Petroleum's strategy, which aims to increase production rates, intensify drilling and exploration activities, and attract more foreign investments. It also contributes to supporting the national infrastructure to connect future discoveries within an integrated system that enhances Egypt's position as a regional hub for natural gas trade and trading.

Following the signing, the Minister held discussions with the Vice President of ExxonMobil, reviewing the company's plans in Egypt, which include drilling new exploratory wells in the "Masri" and "Cairo" areas in the Mediterranean. They also emphasized the importance of implementing the new profitability coefficient system, which is considered an incentive step to accelerate exploration in virgin and new areas.

The discussions also covered the status of the North Marakia Offshore concession area, which saw the "Nefertari-1" discovery. Emphasis was placed on the importance of expediting the development of this discovery and putting it on the production map as soon as possible.