Euromena fund injects$20 million in oil drilling firm

Investment in Egypt-based Sakson Petroleum expected to return 25 percent annually

EuroMena II, a Beirut-based fund dedicated to investing in the MENA region, has invested $20 million in regional oil and gas drilling service provider, Sakson Petroleum.

EuroMena II is managed by Capital Trust Group. The $100 million-fund is the ninth fund raised by the group, and the third fund dedicated to the MENA region. Capital Trust Group includes Lebanese investors, as well as investors from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Jordan, and Egypt.

The investment is for the medium term, from three to five years. “We expect to achieve a yearly return on investment of 20 to 30 percent,” said Karim Burhani, senior investment manager at EuroMena II. Burhani said that fuel-related activities currently are a good investment target: “Oil prices are not expected to fall drastically within the coming three years.”

According to Burhani, Sakson Petroleum is a growing company that is expanding in the Middle East. The Egypt-based company, which specializes in onshore oil and gas drilling, has operations in Egypt, Iraq, Tanzania, Kenya, and Somalia. “The region in which Sakson Petroleum operates is very promising with good growth prospects for the future,” Burhani said.

Reported by Rania Ghanem