Red Sea Block 4 : Mubadala Petroleum signs concession agreement with Egyptian govt

Mubadala Petroleum, a UAE-based oil and gas company, has inked a concession agreement with the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources to take a participating stake of 27% in the Red Sea Block 4, an oil and gas exploration block in Egyptian waters.

The operator of the Red Sea Block 4 is Royal Dutch Shell, which holds a 63% stake. The remaining 10% stake in the offshore block is held by Tharwa, an Egyptian petroleum company.

Owned by South Valley Egyptian Petroleum (Ganope), the Red Sea Block 4 is spread over an area spanning 3,084 square kilometers, near the Gulf of Suez Basin. It was awarded during the 2019 Red Sea Licensing Round by the Egyptian government to Shell and Mubadala Petroleum.

Mubadala Petroleum believes that the Red Sea Block 4 provides it opportunities for tapping significant new prospects.

Under the initial three-year term of the concession agreement, Mubadala Petroleum and its partners will commit to carrying out subsurface studies of the offshore Egyptian besides acquiring its 3D seismic.

Dr. Bakheet Al Katheeri – Mubadala Petroleum CEO said: “The addition of Red Sea Block 4, marks a further extension of our Egypt portfolio with a new high impact growth opportunity alongside a world class partner in Shell.

“This new exploration block will support our strategy of finding and, if successful, developing hydrocarbons for Egypt’s expanding market and delivering organic growth opportunities to add to our existing business in the country.”

In Egypt, apart from the Red Sea Block 4, the Arabian oil and gas company is engaged in the Shorouk concession that contains the Zohr gas field and the Nour exploration concession. Both the concessions are contained in the Mediterranean Sea.