By Sama Marwan,
Engineer Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, participated in the 17th edition of the OMC Med Energy 2025 Conference, held from April 8 to 10, 2025, in Ravenna, Italy, in response to an invitation from Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Italian energy company Eni.
Badawi participated as a keynote speaker in the opening session titled “The Energy Scenario: Perspectives of Institutions and Companies”, alongside Claudio Descalzi (CEO of Eni), Mohamed Arkab (Algerian Minister of Energy and Mines), and Khalifa Rajab Abdel Sadiq (Libyan Minister of Oil and Gas). The session was moderated by international financial journalist Silvia Berzoni.
The session addressed the current energy landscape and long-term challenges facing the Mediterranean region in its transition to sustainable energy. These challenges include:
Financing the shift from traditional energy systems to low-carbon energy sources
Scaling and integrating emerging technologies
Developing sustainable energy policies and frameworks
The role of international cooperation, investment, and geopolitical dynamics in securing a stable and resilient energy future.
Badawi reviewed the developments in Egypt’s energy industry and future plans, especially infrastructure development, and highlighted the vital role infrastructure projects play in ensuring energy security both in Egypt and the wider region.
He emphasized that the sector’s vision is not limited to securing domestic energy, but also extends to playing a broader regional role. He referred to the strategy of positioning Egypt as a regional energy hub that connects East and West.
Badawi presented the Ministry of Petroleum’s plans to maximize the use of Egypt’s resources and assets, which include extensive infrastructure and scalable facilities such as:
LNG terminals
Refineries
Crude oil and natural gas pipelines
Storage facilities
Ports and marine terminals
Transport networks
He stressed the importance of regional integration and cooperation to maximize infrastructure utilization in a way that brings mutual benefits and ensures the sustainability and affordability of energy resources in the region.
Badawi also referred to the unprecedented agreement signed in the Eastern Mediterranean energy sector between Egypt and Cyprus, and the operating company alliance of the Cypriot Aphrodite and Kronos fields, to begin development and connect them to Egypt’s gas liquefaction and export facilities. The agreement was signed during the opening of the EGYPS conference in February.
He reaffirmed Egypt’s petroleum sector commitment to working with all regional partners to enhance performance and solidify Egypt’s prominent role on the global energy map as a distinguished regional energy hub.
The minister also addressed the sector’s efforts to ensure energy security while advancing the energy transition strategy, which includes:
Diversifying the energy mix
Expanding the use of renewable energy sources
Decarbonizing oil and gas
All aimed at ensuring the availability of sustainable energy sources. He affirmed that natural gas remains the best fuel, being the least carbon-intensive, and currently represents about 65% of Egypt’s total hydrocarbon consumption.
Badawi also outlined the strategy and priorities of Egypt’s petroleum sector and the investment opportunities in oil, gas, petrochemicals, and renewable energy. He emphasized the importance placed on increasing oil and gas production, accelerating exploration and drilling operations, and developing fields.
He also discussed the investment incentives package launched to boost oil and gas production in cooperation with sector partners, and stressed the importance of new digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, to accelerate new discoveries and increase production.
