IOCs commit to Egyptian exploration programmes

A handful of companies, including several with long experience of operating in Egypt’s upstream sector, have committed nearly $800m to new and ongoing exploration projects since late November. The government’s early December postponement of a tender for a third floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) is based on forecasts that the extra gas will not be needed in 2017 and most analysts believe that rates of production will increase in the years up to and beyond 2020.