Dragon Oil, Dubai, has agreed to buy BP PLC’s producing and exploration concessions in Egypt, including the British company’s interest in Gulf of Suez Petroleum Co. (GUPCO).
The move is part of BP’s plan to divest more than $10 billion of assets globally over the next 2 years but does not indicate an exit from Egypt.
BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley said the company has invested $12 billion in Egypt during the past 4 years—“more than anywhere else in our portfolio”—and plans to invest $3 billion in the next 2 years.
GUPCO, a partnership with Egyptian General Petroleum Corp., produces about 70,000 b/d of crude oil from mature fields.
Dragon Oil is a wholly owned subsidiary of Emirates National Oil Co.
BP’s continuing operations in Egypt include natural gas developments in the West Nile Delta region and in the Mediterranean.
Dragon Oil holds a 100% interest in the undeveloped East Zeit Bay Block in the southern Gulf of Suez.