By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, May 12 -- Egypt and BP Egypt have signed extensions of two Gulf of Suez concessions in effect since the 1960s.
BP's Merged Concession Agreement (MCA) was extended by 20 years and its South Gharib concession by 10 years. The two areas, which currently produce more than 100,000 b/d of oil equivalent, represent about 80% of BP's total oil business in Egypt.
BP said the extension agreements will prolong the lives of existing oil fields, maximize the recovery of remaining reserves, and allow future exploration.
BP's original agreement terms have been modified to commit BP to invest at least $615 million over 7 years in new exploration and development and in upgrading existing infrastructure in the gulf.
Operations are conducted by Gulf of Suez Petroleum Co., a 50-50 joint venture of BP and Egyptian General Petroleum Corp.
Since 1967 the operators have invested more than $9 billion in the two areas, producing 4.7 billion bbl of oil, more than one third of the country's total oil production. Recent discoveries include Saqqara field in mid-2003 and Edfu field in 2001.
