Egypt oil fields still open but companies on alert

Egyptian oil and gas production by major companies including BP and BG has been unaffected by the crisis in Egypt, although Royal Dutch Shell has closed its office for the next few days and restricted business travel there. “Operations and production are unaffected. We are monitoring the security situation in the (urban) areas where we have offices. All our people are safe and accounted for,” a BP spokesman said after at least 525 people were killed in a security crackdown. Egypt produces around 728,000 barrels of oil a day, about 0.9 percent of global output, and 60.9 billion cubic meters of gas, 1.8 percent of world supply. BP produces about 15 percent of that oil and over 30 percent of the gas along with its partners, which include Shell. “To ensure the safety and security of our staff, Shell offices in Egypt are closed for business today and into the weekend, and business travel into the country has been restricted. We will continue to monitor the situation in Egypt,” a Shell spokesman said in a statement. A spokesman for BG, whose offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations in Egypt account for about a fifth of its total production, said there was no change to report and that all its people were safe and accounted for. The company already in July pulled out 100 expatriate staff and dependents.