Interviews
Shell Egypt … 108 years of responsible investment in the Egyptian market
Published on : 2019-10-26
Nineoil and gas producing concessions
… Four exploration concessions .. and notable offshore operations
Leading social investment and
development programs focusing on human capital development of the Egyptian
youth; especially enterprise development
In 2011 Shell celebrated its 100 year presence in Egypt. It
first entered the country in 1911 to operate two concessions in Gemsa and
Hurghada. Today Shell has a number of joint ventures and interests in Egypt and
is continuing to explore for oil and gas in Egypt, investing in pioneering
ventures, such as Deepwater drilling.
Safety, environmental and social
responsibility are at the heart of our activities. Being an integrated energy
company that aims to meet the world’s growing demand for energy in ways that
are economically, environmentally and socially responsible, and a leader in the
oil and gas industry, “Petroleum Today” seized the opportunity of the
Mediterranean Offshore Conference to interview Shell Egypt’s Chairman and
Managing Director Khaled Kacem to get more insights on the company’s global
trends and local strategies.
- Khaled
Kacem Chairman and Managing Director of Shell Egypt, Accepting the invitation to
answer our questions is a great honor to us, we would like to start with a
brief story to your journey In the petroleum industry.
This is Khaled Kacem, member of Shell Egypt extended family. I have
spent over 27 years in Executive Management, JV Management, Operations and Project
Engineering Management most of them were gained in Shell’s premises all over
the world. My journey within Shell started in 1998 where I held a variety of
leadership positions in Tunisia, UK and Egypt delivering excellence as well as
adding value and growth in complex assets in the Oil & Gas sector.
Worth mentioning that I am not new to
the Egyptian market since I have occupied the position of President and Asset
General Manager of BG Egypt after being the General Manager and Managing
Director of Rashpetco.
- “Together Anything Is Possible”, under this slogan we would like to know about your company CSR
Policies and
activities in Egypt
We are committed to support the communities where we operate through constructive initiatives that promote the communities in an innovative, productive and sustainable manner.
In Egypt, Shell had taken the Social Investments strategy to a whole new level either by creating company’s own social investments programs or even sponsoring other onesaiming to enhance and develop the capabilities of the Egyptian youth.
Our programs support local skills development,
young entrepreneurs and in turn the local economy through the development of
small projects and entrepreneurship initiatives like Shell Intilaaqah, the
Shell Eco-marathon, Al-Amal programme,Imagine the Future competition, NXplorersprogram
and Shell’s partnership with AUC V-Lab to develop startups in the field of
energy and environmental sustainability.
We also signed a protocol of cooperation with
the World Food Program for the development of community schools in MarsaMatruh
in order to develop the community of our operations there.
- Your
Company had put a strategy to increase and sustain natural gas production in
the Mediterraneanthrough a series of steps, we would like to have quick insight
about these steps.
At Shell, we believe that abundant new gas production in the
Mediterranean is now helping Egypt to meet its own rising demand for gas and
will play a main role in Egypt’s transition into a regional energy hub.
Our strategy aims to increase and sustain the gas production in the
Mediterranean by taking a series of successive steps, developing our existing
assets and exploring new investment opportunities in the WDDM concession, in
Rosetta concession and in the Nile Delta.
Shell Egypt has recently
been awarded two blocks in The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) 2018
international bid round, making it one of the most important recent
achievements by the company. The two concessions are in the Offshore Nile
Delta. The record award results are in line with Shell Egypt’s growth strategy, aiming to expand the existing footprint and secure
a material position in the country.
We are working in progress in the 8 development wells in phase 9B by
commencing production ahead of the schedule.
We are currently using
advanced methods in deep water exploration at a depth of 20,000 feet below sea
level in Montu well. This well is one of the first to drill to these depthsis
considered a quantum leap in the oil and gas exploration field in Egypt,
especially that the wells have the potential to create new opportunities for
the oil and gas sector, leading to new exploration efforts at these depths
- What
are the most promising areas or concessions the company is working in?
The
Mediterranean region is one of the promising areas in Egypt that will play a
big role in Egypt’s transition into a regional energy hub.
That’s
why Shelltogether with our JV Rashid Petroleum Company have put a strategy to sustain
and increase natural gas production in the Mediterranean through the WDDM concession, and we’re looking forward to a promising potential in the
newly awarded blocks.
- What
are your most feared challenges about petroleum industry? And what are your
advices?
The
history has shown that Egypt is resilient and competitive. Egypt’s prospects
are getting much stronger and the government is making great and successful achievements.
I
think the challenges in the industry are being addressed through the latest
legislative reforms and the modernization efforts within the industry,
especially after issuing new gas law which is a key step towards modernizing
the sector by liberalizing the gas market in country.
Such
reforms have given foreign investors the incentive to grow their investments in
the country, trusting that such reforms would trickle down – Shell is no
different.
Egypt’s
economic potential is closely tied to its ability to develop a robust energy
industry. The government is laying down these foundations efficiently through
the economic reforms and Oil and Gas Sector modernization program.
- From
your point of view, to what extent do you see the importance of such big events
to the industryand how they affected in recent years?
Hosting two of the region’s key events
in the oil and gas industry sends a message to the world that Egypt is a safe, economic stable country that has the capabilities
to host such events.
These events are one of the main platforms we can share the
industry’s latest technologies, technical capabilities andexpertise, which will
help sustainthe Oil and Gas sector’s development and increase current
investments and attract potential investments.
- Finally, we would like to know about your company HSE policies
and actions taken about it in Egypt?
At Shell, we apply our Global HSE standardsin all countries we operate in.A good example is achieving Goal Zero –at the WDDM Concession in Phase 9B. The Health Safety & Environment (HSE) performance has been world class. The project team, including company project management personnel along with contractor partners, made sure to set a positive safety culture from the beginning. The project has recorded close to 700,000 man hours worked with zero harm, no Lost Time Incidents (LTI)s and no recordable injuries. This top quartile performance was achieved as a result of implementing a series of HSE focused initiatives such as the project HSE vision, project HSE commitments, and the “better together” program part of Shell HSE policies.