The Egyptian government is working on having a new exploration and production (E&P) contract model for future oil and natural gas operations in undeveloped areas, officials from the Ministry of Petroleum and an oil company stated, according to Bloomberg.

The new model aims to increase exploration activities and help the North African country become energy self-sufficient.

According to the model, the oil firms would cover the E&P cost and in return they will have shares of the production. The companies would then have the freedom to sell their production share to the buyer they choose, the official explained.

The companies’ production shares would differ based on the amount they are investing in each concession.

According to the existing production agreement, the investing firms have around a third of a field’s production as a way of covering the costs. The remaining two thirds are then split between the investor and the Egyptian government. The agreement stated that the government has the right to purchase the total production if needed at predetermined prices.