Egypt put energy investment and supply security at the centre of its policy message on Monday as Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly reviewed TotalEnergies’ operations in the country during EGYPES 2026, using the Cairo gathering to signal that the government still wants foreign capital flowing into gas, power and downstream projects despite a far more volatile regional backdrop.
The talks took place on the sidelines of the opening session of the Egypt Energy Show, held from 30 March to 1 April under the patronage of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi at the Egypt International Exhibition Center in Cairo. EGYPES this year has drawn major international energy executives, including TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanné, at a moment when governments across the region are trying to balance immediate fuel security with longer-term investment in gas infrastructure, renewables and trade links.
Madbouly’s meeting with TotalEnergies fits into a broader push by Cairo to reinforce Egypt’s role as a regional energy hub. Government-linked reporting on the event said the prime minister stressed the administration’s keenness to deepen cooperation with the French energy group in support of that strategy, while also reviewing progress on existing projects and possible areas for expansion. The message was consistent with wider remarks from Egyptian officials at EGYPES, where they presented the country as a stable investment destination even as conflict-driven supply shocks unsettle oil and gas markets.
TotalEnergies’ footprint in Egypt gives the meeting weight beyond ceremonial diplomacy. The company says it is active across retail fuel, lubricants, aviation, exploration and renewables. In the upstream and gas chain, it is a shareholder in the Idku liquefied natural gas plant’s first train and holds interests in two offshore Mediterranean exploration blocks, including Block 3, which it operates. On its Egypt platform, the company also says the Bashrush discovery on Block 7, North El Hammad Offshore, was brought into production in June 2022, giving it an established producing position as well as exploration exposure.
In power and transition projects, TotalEnergies says it operates two 50-megawatt solar photovoltaic plants at Benban Solar Park, one of Egypt’s flagship renewable clusters. That gives the company a role in two strands Cairo is trying to advance at the same time: preserving gas-linked export and industrial capacity while expanding lower-carbon electricity generation. Egyptian officials at the conference repeated the country’s target of lifting renewables to 42 per cent of the energy mix by 2030, while still treating natural gas as a central pillar of energy security.
The commercial retail side is equally significant. TotalEnergies says it has operated in Egypt since 1998 and maintains a network of roughly 240 service stations in the country. Its local marketing arm, TotalEnergies Marketing Egypt, is a 50:50 venture with ADNOC Distribution and says it includes 11 fully branded ADNOC stations, described as the first of their kind in Egypt. The joint-venture structure reflects a wider pattern in the country’s energy market, where Gulf capital, European operators and Egyptian state institutions increasingly intersect across infrastructure, supply and consumer-facing assets.
For Cairo, attracting more spending from companies such as TotalEnergies depends partly on improving payment discipline and reducing investor concerns over arrears. At EGYPES, Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi said Egypt recorded 83 oil and gas discoveries and drew about $6.5 billion in investments during the 2024-2025 fiscal year. He also said the state has been cutting outstanding dues to international partners, a long-running obstacle to new upstream commitments. Separate conference reporting indicated those dues had fallen from about $6.1 billion in 2024 to nearly $1.3 billion, with full settlement targeted by the end of June 2026.
That pitch comes at a difficult moment. Speaking at the EGYPES opening, Sisi warned that the war linked to Iran and attacks on energy infrastructure could send oil above $200 a barrel and trigger broader economic disruption, particularly for middle-income economies. Madbouly had already announced measures to curb fuel consumption and slow some energy-intensive state projects as Egypt grapples with the import bill and wider market stress. Against that background, the meeting with TotalEnergies carried a dual purpose: to reassure foreign investors and to show that Egypt still sees international partnerships as essential to keeping production, imports, exports and domestic supply on a workable footing.
The talks took place on the sidelines of the opening session of the Egypt Energy Show, held from 30 March to 1 April under the patronage of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi at the Egypt International Exhibition Center in Cairo. EGYPES this year has drawn major international energy executives, including TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanné, at a moment when governments across the region are trying to balance immediate fuel security with longer-term investment in gas infrastructure, renewables and trade links.
Madbouly’s meeting with TotalEnergies fits into a broader push by Cairo to reinforce Egypt’s role as a regional energy hub. Government-linked reporting on the event said the prime minister stressed the administration’s keenness to deepen cooperation with the French energy group in support of that strategy, while also reviewing progress on existing projects and possible areas for expansion. The message was consistent with wider remarks from Egyptian officials at EGYPES, where they presented the country as a stable investment destination even as conflict-driven supply shocks unsettle oil and gas markets.
TotalEnergies’ footprint in Egypt gives the meeting weight beyond ceremonial diplomacy. The company says it is active across retail fuel, lubricants, aviation, exploration and renewables. In the upstream and gas chain, it is a shareholder in the Idku liquefied natural gas plant’s first train and holds interests in two offshore Mediterranean exploration blocks, including Block 3, which it operates. On its Egypt platform, the company also says the Bashrush discovery on Block 7, North El Hammad Offshore, was brought into production in June 2022, giving it an established producing position as well as exploration exposure.
In power and transition projects, TotalEnergies says it operates two 50-megawatt solar photovoltaic plants at Benban Solar Park, one of Egypt’s flagship renewable clusters. That gives the company a role in two strands Cairo is trying to advance at the same time: preserving gas-linked export and industrial capacity while expanding lower-carbon electricity generation. Egyptian officials at the conference repeated the country’s target of lifting renewables to 42 per cent of the energy mix by 2030, while still treating natural gas as a central pillar of energy security.
The commercial retail side is equally significant. TotalEnergies says it has operated in Egypt since 1998 and maintains a network of roughly 240 service stations in the country. Its local marketing arm, TotalEnergies Marketing Egypt, is a 50:50 venture with ADNOC Distribution and says it includes 11 fully branded ADNOC stations, described as the first of their kind in Egypt. The joint-venture structure reflects a wider pattern in the country’s energy market, where Gulf capital, European operators and Egyptian state institutions increasingly intersect across infrastructure, supply and consumer-facing assets.
For Cairo, attracting more spending from companies such as TotalEnergies depends partly on improving payment discipline and reducing investor concerns over arrears. At EGYPES, Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi said Egypt recorded 83 oil and gas discoveries and drew about $6.5 billion in investments during the 2024-2025 fiscal year. He also said the state has been cutting outstanding dues to international partners, a long-running obstacle to new upstream commitments. Separate conference reporting indicated those dues had fallen from about $6.1 billion in 2024 to nearly $1.3 billion, with full settlement targeted by the end of June 2026.
That pitch comes at a difficult moment. Speaking at the EGYPES opening, Sisi warned that the war linked to Iran and attacks on energy infrastructure could send oil above $200 a barrel and trigger broader economic disruption, particularly for middle-income economies. Madbouly had already announced measures to curb fuel consumption and slow some energy-intensive state projects as Egypt grapples with the import bill and wider market stress. Against that background, the meeting with TotalEnergies carried a dual purpose: to reassure foreign investors and to show that Egypt still sees international partnerships as essential to keeping production, imports, exports and domestic supply on a workable footing.
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