Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, met with Roberto Ebert, Ambassador of Chile to Cairo, along with a delegation from the Chilean ENAP Sipetrol, which has current investments in Egypt, to discuss cooperation plans in oil production in collaboration with the Egyptian General Petroleum Company (EGPC).
The meeting addressed ways to accelerate ENAP’s operations in the West Amer Area in the Eastern Desert in cooperation with EGPC, in order to increase production rates and review its future plans to drill new wells and expand exploration activities.
Operating in Egypt since 1998, ENAP Sipetrol has operations in several key regions, including the Western Desert, and Eastern Desert. In 2024, ENAP Sipetrol committed $70 million to its operations in the East Ras Qattara concession to support the drilling of four development wells and three exploration wells in the Shahd, Northeast Shahd, and Zahraa.The company completed a seismic survey in the West Amer concession at a cost of $11.5 million, to advance the start of drilling operations to September 2025 instead of January 2026. are
The meeting also discussed potential cooperation in the mining sector for the first time, given the improving investment climate in Egypt and Chile’s expertise in mining.
Badawi praised Chile’s globally recognized expertise, particularly in lithium and copper extraction, stressing Egypt’s interest in building a partnership with Chile in developing value chains for critical minerals in addition to providing all necessary facilitation for Chilean companies seeking investment opportunities in Egypt.
For his part, the Ambassador stressed his country’s keenness to advance political and economic relations with Egypt, highlighting the importance of cooperation in overcoming challenges and maximizing mutual benefit.