Feature: Chinese firms eye further regional partnerships via Egypt's largest oil expo

Photo taken on Feb. 13, 2023 shows the booth of China ZhenHua Oil Co., Ltd. at the Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS) in Cairo, Egypt. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

CAIRO, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese oil and tech firms have attracted many visitors at the ongoing sixth session of Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS), a leading oil expo in the Middle East and North Africa that gathered more than 500 exhibitors from across the world.

"We consider Egypt a focal point to explore our business opportunities here in the MENA region and the African continent," said Ma Cheng, country and general manager of North Petroleum International Company (NPIC) S.A., a subsidiary of China ZhenHua Oil Co., Ltd.

Running an eye-catching booth at the expo, Zhenhua Oil boasted its nine-year experience in operating oil and gas fields in Egypt and the creation of more than 1,000 direct and indirect job opportunities for Egyptians.

"Through this exhibition, we would like to enhance our relations with our Egyptian partners," he noted, adding the business in Egypt is part of the fruition of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative that seeks to boost win-win partnerships among participating countries.

The NPIC and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation launched a joint venture Petro Amir Petroleum Company to produce oil and gas in three locations in the Eastern and Western Deserts in Egypt.

"I believe that China is a key investment partner for Egypt ... including in the oil sector," said Egyptian geologist Samir Zalat, general manager and managing director of Petro Amir Petroleum.

ZhenHua Oil operated in the fields of oil exportation, production and liquefaction, among others, Zalat introduced, adding the company seeks expansion in Egypt together with local partners.

More than 500 exhibitors from a dozen of countries across the world participated in the expo, including Egypt, Italy, the United States, Britain, India, Cyprus, Greece, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Spain and China.

Among the Chinese exhibitors is China's renowned Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd, with its booth introducing cutting-edge ICT solutions in the energy sector, such as "Smart Gas Station," "Ransomware Protection Storage Solution," "Intelligent Oil &Gas field," and "Digital Pipeline."

Wang Hao, vice president for North Africa Energy at Huawei, said that it was the third time for the Chinese ICT giant to exhibit at the expo, noting that Huawei has been operating in Egypt for over 20 years.

"The importance of digitalization has been embraced by all industries. Since the oil and gas industry is a pivotal one in this region, we do believe this industry can benefit from the technology we offer, whether hardware or software," Wang told Xinhua.

Meanwhile, an Egyptian visitor was listening to a Huawei engineer explaining how a smart gas station works while watching the illustration displayed on a large monitor at the booth.

"They offer interesting solutions for communications and digitalization. I like the idea of a smart gas station and how to monitor all alarms in a gas station, how to follow up the levels of the tanks, how to integrate communications, etc.," said Kareem Mahmoud, a research department manager at Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals, a company of Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum.

"The Chinese technology companies, especially Huawei, really offer solutions that go in line with our ministry's strategy toward digitalization and networking," he told Xinhua, stressing the necessity of "constant collaboration" between Egypt and China in the realm of tech.

Photo taken on Feb. 13, 2023 shows the booth of China's Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. at the Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS) in Cairo, Egypt. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

People visit the booth of China's Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. at the Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS) in Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 13, 2023. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

A visitor talks with an exhibitor at the booth of China ZhenHua Oil Co., Ltd. at the Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS) in Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 13, 2023. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

People visit the booth of China ZhenHua Oil Co., Ltd. at the Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS) in Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 13, 2023. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)