Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla met with Elkhan Polukhov, Ambassador of Azerbaijan in Cairo, to discuss ways of joint cooperation between the two countries and investment opportunities available in the field of oil, gas, and green energies in Egypt, in addition to the possibility of exchanging experiences between the two sides in these fields, the ministry said in a statement.

During the meeting, El Molla pointed out the petroleum sector’s historical relations and cooperation with the State Petroleum Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) in the fields of crude oil and refining, stating that the sector has distinguished manufacturing facilities for supplies and equipment. This is in addition to the expertise gained by Egyptian oil companies in recent years in the field of designing and implementing important projects inside and outside Egypt and the possibility of their participation in oil and gas projects in Azerbaijan.

El Molla reviewed the projects being worked on in the field of petrochemicals in Egypt and the opportunities for investment available in the petroleum sector.

For his part, Polukhov said that his country possesses great experiences in the fields of oil, gas, and green energies and is ready to exchange expertise with Egypt. He highlighted that Azerbaijan, as a key natural gas exporter like Egypt, seeks to increase its natural gas exports, which is one of the important areas in which cooperation with Egypt can be made. Polukhov referred to Azerbaijan’s endeavor to establish a gas liquefaction plant that may benefit from the pioneering Egyptian experience in this regard, and that one of the proposed areas of cooperation is the expansion of the production of petrochemical products, especially fertilizers.

Polukhov pointed to the possibility of preparing training programs to develop the skills and capabilities of the human element on both sides and holding meetings between the two sides to prepare for signing a memorandum of understanding to support cooperation in the proposed fields between the two countries.

El Molla invited the Azerbaijani Minister of Energy to attend the Egyptian International Petroleum Conference and Exhibition (EGYPS 2023) in its next edition, which will start in mid-February.