BP said on Monday it has agreed to sell its interests in Gulf of Suez oil concessions in Egypt to Dubai-based Dragon Oil, as part of the supermajor’s plan to divest more than $10 billion in global assets over the next two years.
Under the terms of the deal, Dragon Oil, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), will purchase producing and exploration concessions, including BP’s interest in the Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company (GUPCO).
The deal, which is subject to the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources’ approval, is expected to complete during the second half of 2019. Financial details were not disclosed.
The sale comes as BP dials in on Egypt's vast offshore gas reserves.
In December 2018, BP acquired from Eni a 25% participating interest in the Nour North Sinai concession area offshore Egypt.
In February, BP announced the start of production from the second stage of the West Nile Delta development – which includes five gas fields across the North Alexandria and West Mediterranean Deepwater offshore concession blocks – producing from the Giza and Fayoum fields. The first stage, producing from the Taurus and Libra fields, started up in 2017. The final stage, developing the Raven field, is expected to begin production late this year.
When fully onstream in 2019, combined West Nile Delta production is expected to reach up to 1.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d), equivalent to about 20% of Egypt’s current gas production. All the gas produced will be fed into the national gas grid.
The BP-operated Atoll Phase One gas project began production in early 2018. The Eni-operated Zohr gas field, in which BP is a partner, began production late 2017.
BP has also made a series of discoveries in Egypt in recent years including Satis and Qattameya.
Bob Dudley, BP chief executive, said, “Egypt is a core growth and investment region for BP. In the past four years we have invested around $12 billion in Egypt – more than anywhere else in our portfolio – and we plan another $3 billion investment over the next two years. We look forward to continuing to broaden our business here, working closely with the government of Egypt as we develop the country’s abundant resources.”
Hesham Mekawi, regional president, BP North Africa, added, “We continue to bring on new developments and deliver important gas supplies for the country. We remain on track to triple our 2016 net production from Egypt by 2020. As we grow our business here, we also keep our portfolio under review. We believe Dragon Oil is well-placed to operate these mature assets, delivering further value for Egypt.”