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Egypt: BP Awarded New Offshore Exploration Block in Western Mediterranean

A map showing the concession area Egypt granted to BP to explore for gas in the western Mediterranean. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A map showing the concession area Egypt granted to BP to explore for gas in the western Mediterranean. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Egypt: BP Awarded New Offshore Exploration Block in Western Mediterranean

A map showing the concession area Egypt granted to BP to explore for gas in the western Mediterranean. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A map showing the concession area Egypt granted to BP to explore for gas in the western Mediterranean. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

BP has won gas exploring rights in Egypt's offshore King Mariout concession in the western Mediterranean, the British-based company said in a statement on Tuesday.

This comes following its successful participation in 2021’s limited bid round organized by the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company.

The concession area is located approximately 20 kilometers west of the Raven field in the Mediterranean Sea within western Nile Delta area. It offers potential for material gas discoveries that could be developed using existing infrastructure.

The area covers around 2,600 square km at a depth of between 500 and 2,000 meters.

BP owns 100% of the exploration rights area there, which enhances the chances of developing future gas discoveries by utilizing the existing infrastructure, the statement added.

It quoted BP’s North Africa Regional President Karim Alaa as saying that the new award, following EGY-MED-E5 block award in early 2022 to an equally owned partnership between BP and Eni, will leverage existing infrastructure to continue delivering hydrocarbons for Egypt’s growing gas market.

BP has been active player in the Egyptian energy industry since 60 years investing more than $35 billion.

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Iran's Rial Hits a Record Low, Battered by Regional Tensions and Energy Crisis

An Iranian trader counts money in Tehran's Grand Bazaar. (Reuters)
An Iranian trader counts money in Tehran's Grand Bazaar. (Reuters)
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Iran's Rial Hits a Record Low, Battered by Regional Tensions and Energy Crisis

An Iranian trader counts money in Tehran's Grand Bazaar. (Reuters)
An Iranian trader counts money in Tehran's Grand Bazaar. (Reuters)

The Iranian rial on Wednesday fell to its lowest level in history, losing more than 10% of value since Donald Trump won the US presidential election in November and signaling new challenges for Tehran as it remains locked in the wars raging in the Middle East.

The rial traded at 777,000 rials to the dollar, traders in Tehran said, down from 703,000 rials on the day Trump won.

Iran’s Central Bank has in the past flooded the market with more hard currencies in an attempt to improve the rate.

In an interview with state television Tuesday night, Central Bank Gov. Mohammad Reza Farzin said that the supply of foreign currency would increase and the exchange rate would be stabilized. He said that $220 million had been injected into the currency market, The AP reported.

The currency plunged as Iran ordered the closure of schools, universities, and government offices on Wednesday due to a worsening energy crisis exacerbated by harsh winter conditions. The crisis follows a summer of blackouts and is now compounded by severe cold, snow and air pollution.

Despite Iran’s vast natural gas and oil reserves, years of underinvestment and sanctions have left the energy sector ill-prepared for seasonal surges, leading to rolling blackouts and gas shortages.

In 2015, during Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers, the rial was at 32,000 to $1. On July 30, the day that Iran’s reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian was sworn in and began his term, the rate was 584,000 to $1.

Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord in 2018, sparking years of tensions between the countries that persist today.

Iran’s economy has struggled for years under crippling international sanctions over its rapidly advancing nuclear program, which now enriches uranium at near weapons-grade levels.

Pezeshkian, elected after a helicopter crash killed hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi in May, came to power on a promise to reach a deal to ease Western sanctions.

Tensions still remain high between the nations, 45 years after the 1979 US Embassy takeover and the 444-day hostage crisis that followed. Before the revolution, the rial traded at 70 for $1.