Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and Sameh Fahmi, minister of Petroleum, held a meeting yesterday with two companies involved in petroleum development in the North Alexandria field. Hisham Makawi, president of British Petroleum of Egypt and Hans Hermon Iki, general manager of the German firm RWID said legal amendments related to the North Alexandria area must be approved by parliament.
The amendments to the North Alexandria field agreement were agreed upon after strenuous negotiations between the parties over the last year, said Makawi in a press statement delivered yesterday. He acknowledged that the agreement provides the companies with a low rate of return on their investments in comparison to similar projects with equal levels of risk.
According to the agreement, all of the project’s assets are to be placed under the ownership of the General Authority for Petroleum. The companies will agree to deliver all gas produced to the government, which will total approximately five trillion cubic feet of gas and 55 million barrels of condensates, said Makawi.
British Petroleum was among the first international companies to respond to the Ministry of Petroleum’s request to adjust the price of gas in 2000, said Makawi. This adjustment contributed an additional US$30 billion to the Egyptian treasury.
The North Alexandria field agreement is one of his company’s biggest projects, said Iki, general manager of RWID, and it is of utmost importance to the company. A majority of the company’s investments will be focused on Egypt in the coming years, he added.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
