- BP’s WND project aimed at the development of two offshore concessions: North Alexandria and West Mediterranean Deep Water, focusing on the hydrocarbon resources of five primary fields. Phase 1 of the project comprised the development of three offshore fields: Giza, Fayoum and Raven, and includes: offshore sub-sea production facilities, sub-sea infrastructure, and offshore pipelines, through which the reservoir fluids will be piped onshore to a gas processing facility to be located north of Idku City and the International Highway. Phase 2 entailed the possible expansion of the onshore and offshore facilities through the production and processing of hydrocarbons from two additional gas fields: Taurus and Libra.
- Within the scope of the ESIA for the WND Project phases, Environics was commissioned to carry out socio-economic baseline studies the Edku Site, Beheira Governorate and the Motobas Site, Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate.
- The socio-economic study for Edku Site comprised:
- Secondary socio-economic data collection and analysis, which covered:
- Socio-economic statistics of Beheira Governorate, and Idku Markaz and City.
- Relevant literature of official and academic studies and reports.
- Project-related technical documents and reports.
- Primary socio-economic data collection and assessment, which entailed:
- Participating in the baseline, field, and ecological surveys, which included baseline air and noise monitoring.
- Conducting site visits and field observations to better understand the socio-economic context of the local community.
- Holding informal and structured Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), as well as Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), with various stakeholders, such as: Idku City Council employees, members of the Local Popular Council of Idku, fishermen, farmers, tradesmen, workshop owners, female community leaders, etc.
- Carrying out a Socio-economic Household Survey.
- The socio-economic study for Motobas Site comprised:
- Collection of secondary and primary data, whereby the latter was collected through: Scoping; Site visits and field observations; Photography; Key informant interviews; Focus group discussions and Socio-economic survey.
- Qualitative data analysis
- Discussion of data limitations
- Presentation of the overall context of local communities
- Socio-economic baseline of study area, including: Physical environment; Infrastructure and social services; Civil society; Gender roles; Livelihood variations; Socio-economic characteristics of study sample; Economic conditions, and Vulnerability context.
- Presentation of livelihood context, including existing and alternative livelihood activities.
- Presentation of local perceptions and concerns
- Discussion of the impact of project activities
- Presentation of local expectations
- Secondary socio-economic data collection and analysis, which covered:
