State-owned giant QatarEnergy has signed a deal with US supermajor ExxonMobil to come on board a key deep-water exploration licence offshore Egypt.

The Qatari state-owned giant said on Tuesday that under the terms of the agreement, “subject to customary approvals by the government of Egypt”, the company will hold a 40% working interest in the North Marakia Offshore block in the Mediterranean Sea.

An affiliate of ExxonMobil would continue to operate the block, with a remaining 60% interest, it noted.

QatarEnergy chief executive Saad Sherida al-Kaabi said the agreement represents an “important step” in establishing the company’s presence in Egypt’s upstream oil and gas sector, and in implementing its international growth strategy.

“We are pleased to sign this agreement and to work with our valued long-term partner ExxonMobil to explore exciting prospects in this promising region,” he said.

The North Marakia Offshore block was awarded to ExxonMobil in 2020 and covers 4847 square kilometres in water depths ranging between 1000 and 2000 metres, the company added.

QatarEnergy is embarking on a huge liquified natural gas expansion drive in the tiny emirate, but is also expanding its international footprint.

The company signed a deal with European supermajor Shell in December for stakes in two Red Sea exploration blocks offshore Egypt.

Under the terms of the agreements, QatarEnergy will hold a 17% working interest in blocks 3 and 4, it said.

QatarEnergy last year also signed a deal with ExxonMobil for an exploration licence offshore Newfoundland & Labrador in Canada.

International interest

International energy giants have been flocking to the Egyptian exploration sector, with several awards placed last year.

ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, Shell and Chevron are some of the key players that signed up to nine oil and gas exploration deals in 2021, worth more than $1 billion, involving acreage in the Mediterranean and Red seas.

Egypt’s Petroleum Minister Tarek al-Molla earlier said exploration deals were signed with six companies to drill a total of 17 wells.

The nine new deals were a part of 12 new agreements that have been targeted since March 2020 with minimum investment pegged at $1.4 billion for drilling 23 wells, nine of them in Mediterranean waters and three in the Red Sea.