EGPC Chief Salah Abdel Karim: $4.5 Billion in Investments and 63 New Discoveries Restore Momentum to Egypt’s Petroleum Sector
Eng. Salah Abdel Karim, Chief Executive Officer of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), has unveiled a strong set of performance indicators for fiscal year 2025/2026, led by a return to growth in crude oil production, 63 new oil and gas discoveries, $4.5 billion in upstream investment, and an increase in crude oil processed by Egyptian refineries to around 28 million tonnes.
The figures were announced during a meeting of EGPC’s Board of Directors, chaired by Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Eng. Karim Badawi, to approve the corporation’s results for FY2025/2026.
Abdel Karim said EGPC had navigated an exceptionally challenging year marked by volatile global energy markets, supply-chain disruptions and rising operating costs, while continuing to attract investment and ensure the uninterrupted supply of petroleum products to the domestic market.
Crude Oil Production Returns to Growth
One of the year’s most significant achievements, Abdel Karim said, was reversing the downward trend in crude oil production and putting output back on a growth trajectory.
Efforts initially focused on offsetting the natural decline in mature reservoirs and producing fields. The sector then succeeded in stabilising output before moving into positive growth, marking an important turnaround following several years of production pressures.
63 New Oil and Gas Discoveries
On the exploration front, Abdel Karim said eight new oil and gas exploration agreements were signed, carrying minimum investment commitments of $377 million and non-refundable signature bonuses of $74 million.
Nine field-development contracts were also concluded, while exploration activities resulted in 63 new discoveries — 48 oil discoveries and 15 gas discoveries.
Total investment in exploration and production reached approximately $4.5 billion during FY2025/2026.
Major Seismic Survey Planned for the Western Desert
Abdel Karim also announced the successful tendering of a major seismic survey covering up to 111,000 square kilometres of Egypt’s Western Desert, with implementation scheduled for FY2026/2027.
The project will deploy advanced technologies to generate higher-quality subsurface data, reduce exploration risk and encourage companies to invest in frontier areas and launch new exploration programmes.
Refinery Throughput Rises to 28 Million Tonnes
In the refining sector, Abdel Karim said measures to maximise utilisation of Egypt’s existing refining capacity had delivered a significant increase in throughput and production.
These measures included supplying larger volumes of crude to refineries and carrying out 14 major maintenance overhauls to improve operational efficiency and preserve refinery assets.
As a result, crude oil processed by refineries increased to around 28 million tonnes in FY2025/2026, compared with approximately 25.3 million tonnes in the previous fiscal year — an increase of about 2.7 million tonnes.
Diesel production also rose noticeably from March 2026 onwards, while refineries reached maximum available capacity for gasoline production.
ANOPC Project Nears Completion
Abdel Karim said construction of the Assiut National Oil Processing Company (ANOPC) complex for diesel and other high-value petroleum products had reached approximately 90% completion.
The project is scheduled to begin operations during the first quarter of 2027 and is expected to strengthen Egypt’s domestic production of diesel and other higher-value petroleum products.
Domestic Fuel Demand Fully Met
The EGPC chief said the corporation successfully met the domestic market’s full demand for petroleum products despite population growth and continued expansion in economic activity and major development projects.
Consumption of gasoline and LPG remained broadly stable, while diesel and fuel oil consumption recorded slight declines.
New Contracting Models to Accelerate Drilling and Production
Abdel Karim also highlighted the introduction of new contracting frameworks for drilling, exploration and production projects, including Integrated Project Management (IPM) and Lump Sum Turnkey (LSTK) models.
The new mechanisms are designed to improve execution efficiency, shorten project timelines and accelerate the development of new discoveries and their connection to production facilities.
Cutting Diesel, Gas and Electricity Consumption
As part of its energy-efficiency strategy, EGPC has introduced incentives encouraging partners to invest in renewable energy, grid connectivity, diesel-consumption reduction and flare-gas recovery projects.
The corporation aims to power all field accommodation camps with solar energy from March 2027.
Abdel Karim said 16 projects implemented during the year generated savings equivalent to 1,927 MW of electricity, 25,000 tonnes of diesel and 1.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
29 New Crude Oil Storage Tanks
In strategic storage, Abdel Karim said 29 crude oil storage tanks were being developed with a combined capacity of approximately 32 million barrels.
Fifteen tanks have already been completed as part of a broader programme to strengthen supply-chain resilience and enhance Egypt’s ability to respond to energy-market volatility and potential supply disruptions.
Digitalising the Fuel Supply Chain
On digital transformation, Abdel Karim said Energy Digital Systems (EDS) had been established to manufacture digital fuel dispensers locally, with production at its manufacturing facility expected to begin soon.
EGPC has also expanded the deployment of Automatic Tank Gauging (ATG) systems to monitor fuel inventories at service stations and Remote Tank Gauging (RTG) systems to track stocks at distribution depots, alongside SCADA technology for monitoring Egypt’s petroleum pipeline network.
Safety and Environmental Performance
Abdel Karim said EGPC was continuing to strengthen occupational health, safety and environmental performance through a unified digital platform for safety indicators and another platform for environmental performance monitoring.
The corporation has also intensified training programmes, safety stand-downs and the sharing of lessons learned from incidents, while working with international companies on safety initiatives and programmes.
In addition, 12 refinery stacks have been connected to the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency’s emissions-monitoring system, alongside further investment in industrial wastewater treatment projects.
109 Community Projects Benefit 300,000 People
On social responsibility, Abdel Karim said EGPC had implemented 109 community-development projects in villages and communities surrounding petroleum operations.
The projects covered healthcare, education, economic empowerment, improved living standards, support for female breadwinners and participation in national development initiatives, benefiting around 300,000 people.
Overall, EGPC’s FY2025/2026 results point to progress across several fronts. The most notable development, however, is the reversal of the decline in crude oil production and the return to an upward trajectory, supported by stronger exploration activity, higher refinery utilisation, increased investment and continued expansion of Egypt’s petroleum storage and supply infrastructure.