Qatar’s oil and gas giant QatarEnergy has entered into an agreement with ExxonMobil to acquire a working interest in an exploration block offshore Egypt.

Under the terms of the agreement, which is subject to customary approvals by the government of Egypt, QatarEnergy will hold a 40 per cent working interest in the contractor’s share in the North Marakia Offshore Block in the Mediterranean Sea, while an affiliate of ExxonMobil (operator) will hold the remaining 60 per cent working interest, the Qatari company informed on Tuesday.

North Marakia Offshore was awarded to ExxonMobil in 2020 and covers an area of 4,847 km2 in water depths of 1,000 m to 2,000 m.

Commenting on this occasion, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy said: “This agreement represents another important step in establishing QatarEnergy’s presence in the Arab Republic of Egypt’s upstream oil and gas sector, and in implementing our international growth strategy.”

It is worth reminding that QatarEnergy made its entry into Egypt following an agreement with Shell in December 2021 to acquire working interests in two offshore exploration blocks on the Egyptian side of the Red Sea.

Minister Al-Kaabi added, “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. We are also delighted to have the opportunity to work with EGAS and the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Egyptian authorities and our partners for their valuable support and cooperation.”

In October last year, QatarEnergy also signed a farm-in agreement with ExxonMobil for an exploration license offshore Canada. QatarEnergy will hold a 40 per cent participating interest in license EL 1165A based on this agreement, while the remaining interest will be held by ExxonMobil Canada.

Furthermore, the two companies are working together on exploration efforts in Cyprus. In addition to Block 10, where an appraisal well has recently been completed, the two are also partners in Block 5 located southwest of the island.