Between 1973 and October 2017, the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) signed 439 oil and gas agreements, a senior official at EGPC told Egypt Oil & Gas.

The state-operated company has drilled 2,912 exploratory wells during the past 44 years, the official noted, adding that $23.029 billion had been invested in the oil and gas industry during that time.

Next year, Egypt expects to drill 230 new wells and sign 83 exploration and production (E&P) agreements, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, said last month, according to Al Ahram.

Looking to offer new exploratory concessions, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has been reviewing the security conditions in Egypt’s Eastern and Western Deserts, El Molla told Al Mal News in September.

Established in 1956, EGPC is a state-run oil and gas company, according to Zawya.