The Cabinet approved five petroleum concession agreements between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation(EGPC), the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), and a number of international companies. These agreements cover oil exploration and exploitation in the Northwest El-Maghara in the Western Desert, East El-Hamd and East Gemsa offshore Gulf of Suez, as well as exploration and exploitation of gas and crude oil in the North Damietta offshore area in the Mediterranean.

The agreements comprise $221.23 million worth of investments in addition to $31.5 million in non-refundable grants to expand exploration and development activities in the Western Desert, Gulf of Suez, and Nile Delta regions, the Cabinet stated on Wednesday.

The agreements entail the drilling of 24 wells.

Egypt has been intensifying efforts to maximize production rates through development and new exploration activities in order to secure the local needs of petroleum products, attract foreign investments, and enhance competitiveness in the energy sector.

Recently, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced three new oil and natural gas discoveries in the Western Desert and the Gulf of Suez. One well discovered in the Western Desert currently holds estimated reserves of around 12.5 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), while the other two discovered wells in the Gulf of Suez hold estimated reserves of 2,660 barrels of oil per day (bbl/d) and 720 bbl/d of oil per day.