Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla held a joint session of talks with Wael Sawan, who will be Shell’s new CEO as of January 1, in the presence of Khaled Kacem, President of Shell Egypt, and Alaa El Dabaa, Shell Egypt’s General Manager of Foreign and Government Affairs.

El Molla explained that the discussions, held on the sidelines of COP27, dealt with the most important topics to be discussed on Decarbonization Day, which is scheduled to be held on November 11.

The minister stated that the participation of US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and UNIDO’s Director-General Gerd Müller during this day indicates global interest in decarbonization and the importance of looking at the oil and gas industry with an alternative perspective, especially in the stage of energy transition.

The meeting also dealt with a review of Shell’s targeted work plans during the coming period in its concession areas in the Red and Mediterranean Seas. In this regard, El Molla said that Shell has a enjoy a long history of success, highlighting the importance of the company regaining its position and making discoveries again in light of the concession areas it obtained and the joining of new partners to it in these areas, such as Qatar Energy. 

For his part, Sawan praised the continuous support of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, which was a major factor in achieving Shell’s successes in Egypt, pointing out that Shell is committed to working in Egypt and pumping more investments to achieve new discoveries in light of the promising opportunities that Egypt enjoys and the presence of gas liquefaction plants. 

He further explained that there is a work plan to start drilling work in the first quarter of next year in the new areas obtained by the company, using the offshore drilling rig that the company operates in Cyprus.