Total in Egypt

DOWNSTREAM

• 1932, February, the French Oil Open created the Egyptian Petroleum Company (SEP), which signed an exclusive supply contract with the French Steaua to supply a vast area including Egypt, Sudan, Tripolitania, Palestine and the Dodecanese
• 1932, the SEP buys an Egyptian company, the NPC, partly owned by the Dresdner Bank. Steaua takes a stake in SEP. The latter signs a cartel agreement with Shell and other majors and receives according to the products between 7 and 11% of the market of the zone.
• After 1945, Steaua no longer has its Romanian resources, the OFP supplies this company, which meanwhile has created a subsidiary, the SERCOP (Egyptian Society for Refining and Petroleum Trade), to participate in the construction of a refinery in Alexandria.
• 1954, the OFP signed an agreement with the CFP whereby the Omnium obtains its supplies exclusively from the CFP.
• 1956, because of the crisis of Suez, the assets of this group are placed under sequestration. It follows a turbulent period, which lasts more than ten years, marked by stiffness between France and Egypt.
• 1966, An agreement between governments takes place, but the conditions are not favorable and the Group does not return to the Egyptian downstream before the end of the 90s.

UPSTREAM

• 1955, Petrofina joins forces with AGIP to win a majority stake in a Swiss company, Interhandel (IEOC), which discovers oil on Exxon and Mobil renderings at Feiran and Belayim, and puts it into production.

• 1956, AGIP and Petrofina take full control of IEOC, but must give 49% to the Egyptian State. Both companies create COPE. They already produce 2 MT / year (40 kbj) and discover Abu Rudaïs in 1957.
• 1961, Wolters and Mattei disagree on the development of COPE, Fina goes out of the company. This results in a long period during which the Group no longer operates in the country.
• 1975, return of the Group by the creation of Elf Egypt, which will exploit licenses in association with the national company EGPC.
• In 1978, the CFP receives two offshore licenses in the Mediterranean, then others in the Gulf of Suez, and creates Total Near East.
• 1980, Total discovers the Ras Shukheir deposit.
• 1982, The Group discovers South Ramadan and clues north of Sinai; Petrofina discovers Hurgada. The fields are put into production, but their profitability is mediocre.
• 1986, Fina leaves Egypt, Total sells interest on its assets, Elf folds on the offshore licenses in the Mediterranean.
• 1988, the Amal field is put into production.
• 1989, despite the degraded economic situation of the local subsidiaries, Elf and Total make new tests on other licenses granted. Elf discovers oil on East Nile Delta, but Total leaves in the early 90s,
• 1998, Total puts an end to forty years of absence in marketing in Egypt where the Group takes position.
• 1999, Elf returns to the Egyptian upstream