The Gazprom headquarters hosted today a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Osama Mohamed Kamal Abdel Hamid, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

Taking part in the meeting on behalf of the Egyptian party were also Ahmed Soliman Mohamed Fawzy Soliman, Advisor to President for Major Projects, Alaa Mohamed Hamdi Kenavi, Minister Plenipotentiary, and Takher Abdelrahim Ali Abdel Aal, Deputy Chairman of the EGAS (Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company) Management Board.

The meeting participants discussed the opportunities for the bilateral cooperation development in the oil and gas industry. The meeting specifically addressed the prospects for Gazprom and Egyptian energy companies to cooperate within the projects for hydrocarbon fields exploration and development.

The negotiating parties also touched upon the joint activity expansion in the area of liquefied natural gas supplies to international markets.

Background

Egyptis the largest oil producer and the second largest natural gas producer after Algeria in Africa.

Egypt's proven natural gas reserves amount to some 2.2 trillion cubic meters. Nowadays, approximately 80 per cent of domestic gas reserves and 70 per cent of natural gas production are focused in the Mediterranean region and the Nile Delta.

The annual natural gas production equals nearly 65 billion cubic meters including 16 billion cubic meters intended for export as pipeline gas and LNG.

The Egyptian Government controls the energy sector via the Ministry of Petroleum. Individual segments of the oil and gas industry are regulated by the EGPC (Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation) and EGAS (Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company) state-run companies.