Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), Seasplit Technologies, and GE have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a 1500MW offshore wind project in the Gulf of Suez.
The initiative, announced on the side lines of COP27, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, will see the three partners plan to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of developing 1.5GW of offshore wind power in the Gulf of Suez and intend to explore how strategic companies in Egypt’s petroleum sector can participate in the project’s delivery.
The renewable electricity generated is expected to power the operations of offshore oil and gas facilities, with any excess power supplied to the grid.
The MoU was signed by Magdy Galal, Executive Managing Director of EGAS, Hussein Mesharafa, CEO of Seasplit Technologies, and Joseph Anis, President and CEO of GE Gas Power Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), in the presence of HE Tarek El Molla, Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
El Molla said: “There is no doubt that this agreement will contribute to facing the challenge of climate change and is in line with the strategy of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in moving towards clean energy, and benefiting from offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Suez, and from the advanced solutions of GE and Seasplit Technologies.”
Under the terms of the MoU, EGAS will provide Seasplit and GE with assistance to interact with other government authorities and key stakeholders to enable completion of preliminary works.
Seasplit Technologies is anticipated to provide the necessary technical, financial, and legal resources to evaluate, structure, and develop the project, while GE is expected to enable Seasplit to perform feasibility studies to meet the necessary milestones.