QatarEnergy will buy a 23 per cent stake from Chevron (CVX.N) in an offshore exploration block in Egyptian waters, it said on Monday.

QatarEnergy has in recent years acquired stakes in oil and gas basins including in Guyana, Lebanon, Namibia and South Africa as part of a strategy to expand its global footprint.

Chevron will keep a 40 per cent share in the concession agreement for the North El-Dabaa (H4) block in the Mediterranean Sea following the deal, QatarEnergy said in a statement.

Woodside owns 27 per cent and Egyptian state-owned Tharwa Petroleum Company owns 10 per cent of the block, which is about 10 kilometres offshore with depths between 100 metres (328.08 ft) and 3,000 metres.

“This agreement demonstrates our commitment to the oil and gas sector in the Arab Republic of Egypt, and further strengthens our partnership with our valued partner Chevron,” QatarEnergy Chief Executive Saad al-Kaabi, also Qatar’s state minister for energy, said in the statement.