Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi held talks on Friday, August 21, 2026, with Energean PLC CEO Mathios Rigas. The meeting covered the Greek company’s plans to expand its oil and gas exploration and natural gas production activities in the Mediterranean.
It also addressed prospects for expanding its operations in Egypt in the coming period following the settlement of outstanding dues owed to investment partners. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Petroleum, Badawi reaffirmed that increasing domestic natural gas production remains a top priority for the petroleum sector.
He said the state is committed to providing the necessary incentives to encourage international partners to expand exploration and drilling activities, develop fields and increase production, while working to overcome any challenges that could impede the implementation of their work programs.
The minister also stressed the need to expedite the completion of agreements to consolidate Energean's operating areas, noting that integrating concession areas would help reduce oil and gas production costs and improve the economic viability of the investments required to boost domestic production.
Badawi said the state is continuing to implement policies to strengthen investor confidence, improve the sector's cash flow, and meet its financial obligations to investment partners. Such measures, he added, would enable companies to channel greater investments into drilling, exploration and field development, accelerate work programs and deliver tangible increases in production.
He described the progress made in settling outstanding dues to investment partners as a significant step toward strengthening Egypt’s partnerships with international oil companies and paving the way for a new phase of increased investment and expanded petroleum activities.
Badawi stressed the importance of capitalizing on this positive development to accelerate exploration and production efforts. The minister also reviewed investment opportunities offered by a new international bid round for oil and gas exploration in promising areas located near existing infrastructure and facilities.
Such proximity, he explained, would help reduce investment costs and shorten the time needed to connect new discoveries to production. For his part, Rigas praised the positive cooperation and continued dialogue between Energean and the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, stressing that the measures taken to settle outstanding dues had helped create a more favorable investment environment and shift the focus from addressing challenges to a new phase centered on expansion and increased investment.
Rigas said Energean views Egypt’s growth prospects positively, noting that the improved investment climate would open the door to new plans to expand the company's investments, increase drilling and field development activities, and raise natural gas production in the coming period.