An official source at EGPC told Al Mal newspaper that the Magawish Petroleum Company (Magapetco) was in negotiations with EGPC to discuss the possibility of extending the oil exploration concession in Hurghada for a 10-year term.

The source said that the legal duration of the current agreement is due to expire during 2019, adding that EGPC is still studying the request and had not decided either way.

He did say, however, that in the event that Magapetco submitted an investment plan to increase production then EGPC may seriously grant this extension, especially in light of the ambitious drilling program the company undertook over the past year to achieve which promised new discoveries.

In all cases, Magapetco must continue its production activities in its concession area till its contract expires whatever EGPC’s decision is, he clarified.

He added that if the company had expansion franchise of oil, it is set to be given the right to extend the concession, a private company that has implemented an

For his part, Magapetco chairman Hamdi Hanafi, said that his company’s plan for the 2016/2015 fiscal year included pumping investments ranging between $10 and 10.5 million. He told Al Mal that the company is currently producing from about 11 oil wells, and was planning to drill and connect 5 new development wells. The company’s total cumulative production since the start of its work in Egypt reached more than 22 million barrels of crude oil.

He also stressed that the company was forging ahead with production even though the end of its contract term was drawing near, if only to cover costs, adding that an extension would allow the company to pump more investments and up production over the coming years.

Magapetco began production in 1995 from its concession area, the Magawish Marine, located north of Hurghada. Magapetco is a joint venture company, the product of cooperation between EGPC and Trident, working under the supervision of the South Valley Holding Company for Petroleum.

The official pointed out that the implementation of the company any programs or projects expansive new concession area depends on a stable final position on whether or not to extend the agreement, stressing that in all cases the company is committed to implementing its operations and continue production of its concession until the official end of the agreement through 2019.