Qatar Energy Buys 27% Stake In Egypt Offshore Block From Shell
QatarEnergy has signed an agreement with Shell to acquire a 27% participating interest in the North Cleopatra block offshore Egypt, the Qatari company stated on Sunday.
The move shows the company’s growing role in the East Mediterranean and Africa more broadly.
The deal, still pending approval from Egyptian authorities, will leave Shell with a 36% operating stake in the block. Chevron also holds 27%, while Egypt’s Tharwa Petroleum Company owns the remaining 10%, according to Reuters.
The North Cleopatra block lies in the frontier Herodotus Basin, covering more than 3,400 square kilometres of seabed and plunging to depths of up to 2,600 meters according to QatarEnergy.
Such geological complexity means higher costs and technical challenges, but also, potentially, very rich rewards in terms of gas and oil reserves.
This is not the first time QatarEnergy has made waves in Egypt. In May 2024, it signed a farm-in agreement with ExxonMobil to acquire a 40% interest in two offshore exploration blocks (Cairo and Masry). That deal involved a vast area of 11,400 square kilometres, in waters ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 meters deep.
The acquisition also adds to the company’s broader push to secure assets in major oil and gas basins worldwide, including in Guyana, Lebanon, Namibia and South Africa.
For Egypt, partnerships like these bring in capital, technology, and expertise, which are important for frontier offshore regions like the Herodotus Basin. Along with improving production prospects, these deals help the country boost its energy security and export capacity.
