BP joins Masdar in Egyptian green hydrogen project

Reuters/Sayed Sheasha

• Egypt steps up hydrogen investment
• BP and Masdar combine projects
• Hydrogen to be exported

BP, the British oil and gas company, has agreed to join a consortium including Masdar, the UAE’s state renewable energy company, and others to develop a multi-phase green hydrogen project in Egypt. 

​​The plans come as Reuters reports suggest that BP has frozen new offshore wind projects, as it renews emphasis on oil and gas during investor discontent over its energy transition strategy.

Under the joint development agreement, which also includes Egypt’s Hassan Allam Utilities and Infinity Power, BP will act as the main developer and operator of the project, the companies said in a statement this week.

Infinity Power itself is a joint venture between Egypt’s Infinity and Masdar.

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​​The plans come as Reuters reports suggest BP has frozen new offshore wind projects and renewed its focus on oil and gas due to investor discontent over its energy transition strategy.

Egypt, the Arab world’s third-largest economy, intends to step up solar, wind and green hydrogen projects as it grapples with declining natural gas production.

The country aims to increase power generation from renewables to 42 percent by 2035.

It then plans to increase its renewable energy generation target to 58 percent by 2040 as part of an updated strategy, electricity minister Mohamed Shaker said.

The BP-Infinity consortium will combine their respective green hydrogen projects in Egypt and evaluate the feasibility of a large-scale, multi-phase development focused on exports. 

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The consortium has signed a framework agreement with the Egyptian government to initiate studies for project feasibility.

Egypt’s sovereign wealth fund recently signed agreements with European developers for four green ammonia projects worth $33 billion.

The agreements included an $11 billion deal with Frankfurt-based DAI Infrastruktur to set up a green ammonia project in East Port Said, an Egyptian cabinet statement said.

The project aims to export roughly 2 million tonnes of green ammonia annually.

The agreements were signed at the EU-Egypt Investment Conference.

Europe is Egypt’s largest trade partner and investor, contributing to 40 percent of the country’s foreign direct investments.