Dragon Oil, an upstream oil and gas exploration, development and production company based in Dubai, has announced that it bought BP’s oil concessions in Egypt’s Gulf of Suez. The company will invest around $1 billion in the next five years.
Dragon Oil, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), said that it will increase production capacity in the Egyptian concessions previously owned by BP to 75,000 barrels per day for the next 10 years.
According to the terms and conditions of the acquisition deal, Dragon Oil will replace BP as the partner of Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) in the Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company (GUPCO).
While the deal between Dragon Oil and BP was announced earlier this year in the month of June, it was subject to the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources’ approval.
The deal will help Dragon Oil increase its production capacity to 150, 000 barrels per day and help expand in countries such as Turkmenistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan. According to reports, Dragon Oil is targeting a production capacity of 300, 000 barrels per day by 2026.
Last year, Dragon Oil CEO Ali Al Jarwan revealed that the company has set aside around $500 million for acquisitions. He also revealed the company’s plan to invest around $13 billion over the next decade to develop its existing projects.
Currently, BP produces around 60 percent of Egypt’s gas production through its joint ventures with Pharaonic Petroleum Company and Petrobel in the East Nile Delta as well as through BP’s operated West Nile Delta fields.
BP is also a partner in the Eni-operated Zohr gas field, which began production in 2017. The BP-operated Atoll Phase One gas project in Egypt began production in early 2018.