Cooperation agreements with Egypt’s most important natural gas companies, EGAS and GASCO, were signed by DESFA on the sidelines of the Mediterranean Offshore Conference (MoC) in Alexandria (October 20-22).

In particular, DESFA signed Cooperation Agreement with EGAS(Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company), a company responsible for the organization and management of all activities related to natural gas in Egypt. The agreement signed by the CEO of DESFA, MariaRita Galli, and the executive managing director of EGAS, Yasseen Mohamed, in the presence of the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of Egypt, Karim Badawi and the Secretary General of Energy and Mineral Raw Materials of Greece, Aristotle Ayvaliotis , covers a range of topics of mutual interest in the field of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS). Within the framework of the agreement, enhanced cooperation between the two companies is foreseen for the assessment of the CCUS market in Greece, Egypt, the EU and more widely, the exchange of relevant know-how, the assessment of the prospects and the total cost of the value chain for CO2 storage in Egypt, the identification of other possible areas of cooperation (commercial and business models, regulatory framework, as well as the identification of obstacles to the further development of the CCUS value chain. DESFA and EGAS also agree to establish a joint liaison with national and European authorities , with the aim of ensuring a more effective cooperation between Egypt and the EU for market development CCUS.

DESFA also signed a memorandum of cooperation with GASCOthe operator of Egypt’s natural gas transmission system. The memorandum signed by the managing director of DESFA, Maria RitaGalli, and the president and managing director of GASCO, Eng. Yasser Salah El-Din, aims to promote cooperation between the two companies in areas of common interest, forming the basis for the intensification of future cooperation between DESFA and GASCO in exploring the development of the necessary gas infrastructure for the transport of natural gas, hydrogen and renewable gases in other countries. The two sides express their commitment to the development of a long-term cooperation, agreeing to investigate the technical requirements for possible new investments, interconnections or even improvements of the national networks, regarding natural gas, hydrogen and biomethane.

For this purpose, DESFA and GASCO will share expertise in the field of natural gas transmission and processing. They will also collaborate – through joint ventures or technology exchange – on innovative decarbonisation actions, as well as green energy initiatives such as hydrogen and CCUS projects, as well as projects to develop the necessary CCUS infrastructure and integrate renewable energy . In addition, there will be mutual support in matters of regulatory compliance, market analysis and risk management, exchanging views on optimizing their commercial strategies. At the same time, they will work to align the regulatory frameworks to facilitate cross-border gas flows and investments. A key element of the memorandum of cooperation between DESFA and GASCO is the strengthening of infrastructure for LNG, such as storage, regasification and transportation, as well as DESFA’s significant experience in managing LNG terminals and regasification projects (Revythoussa LNG terminal , KIPICLNG station in Kuwait) could be leveraged to optimize GASCO’s LNG supply chain. Finally, the two companies will examine the possibilities of cooperation to integrate other markets in the Eastern Mediterranean, strengthen regional energy security and optimize regional supply, while promoting digitalization in the operation and maintenance of natural gas networks. A joint working group will monitor the implementation of these initiatives.

In the context of the conference held under the auspices of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of Egypt, DESFA CEO Maria Rita Galli participated in a section on attracting investment in the energy markets of the Mediterranean countries, and emphasized the importance of cooperation between of Greece and Egypt to ensure security of supply in the region and promote decarbonization, pointing out that Greece can be a key gateway for the export of energy from Egypt to Europe.