ExxonMobil Bags Egyptian Acreage

US major ExxonMobil has secured more than 1.7mn acres for exploration offshore Egypt, it said December 30, taking 100% stakes and the operatorship of two areas. “These awards strengthen our exploration portfolio in the eastern Mediterranean,” it said, adding: “We look forward to working with the government and deploying our proven expertise and advanced technology.”

The acquisition includes acreage in the 1.2mn North Marakia Offshore block, which lies about 8 km offshore Egypt’s northern coast in the Herodotus basin. The remaining 543,000 acres are in the North East El Amriya Offshore block in the Nile Delta. Operations, including acquisition of seismic data, are scheduled to begin in 2020.

The US major entered the Eyptian upstream earlier this year but has upstream assets off Cyprus.