Baker Hughes has signed a memorandum of understanding with Egypt’s Petrojet, after meeting Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla.
A statement from Petrojet said the Baker Hughes’ Egypt and Sudan director Tameer Nasser had signed the MoU with its chairman, Walid Lotfy Hamed.
It focuses on co-operation in the supply of specialised chemicals and their various uses, Petrojet said. These chemicals are intended to improve production of wells, transmission pipelines, tank farm tests and CO2 extraction.
The Egyptian company went on to note that the two sides are already working together outside the country, in Mozambique, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates.
Petrojet signed an MoU on local manufacturing with Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas in April.
During talks with the minister, Baker Hughes officials expressed interest in diversifying its business in Egypt and for working in clean energy.
El Molla talked about the global shift of cutting carbon emissions and the role of natural gas in this move. He also talked about the place of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum in helping secure the world’s gas needs.
The minister outlined expectations for increased work in the oil sector in the near term. He set out an expectation that more foreign companies would enter the country.
Egypt is working on plans to increase domestic gas use. This would come through connecting more homes to the gas grid and using it as a fuel for vehicles.
The state has also stepped up exports of LNG. Plants at Idku and Damietta are now operating, with the latter starting up in February after an eight-year pause.
The ministry has said Damietta has exported five cargoes in the first quarter, of which four came in March. However, if international prices drop below $5 per million Btu exports may no longer be feasible.