The Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Engineer Tariq El-Molla, has signed the concession agreement with Mubadala Petroleum for oil and gas exploration activities in the Red Sea Block 4. The Block covers an area of about 3084 kilometres square, and it is owned by the South Valley Egyptian Petroleum Holding Company (Ganope).

The block was awarded by the Government of Egypt in the 2019 Red Sea Licensing Round. Mubadala Petroleum will now hold 27% participating interest in Block 4. Shell is the operator with a 63% participating interest, and Tharwa holds a 10% participating interest.

The Block is located in the Northern Red Sea, adjacent to the Gulf of Suez Basin. The concession has the potential to unlock substantial new prospects. The Company is to conduct subsurface studies and to acquire 3d seismic during the initial three-year term.

The Chief Executive Officer of Mubadala Petroleum, Dr Bakheet Al Katheeri, 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.”

Aside from the stake in the Red Sea Block, Mubadala Petroleum has a 10% stake in the Shorouk concession, which contains the Zohr gas field, and a 20% stake in the Nour exploration concession, both located in the Mediterranean Sea offshore Egypt.