The Egyptian oil and gas ministry will sign contracts with international companies to conduct seismic survey on Red Sea within days, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, stated, according to Amwal Al Ghad.

The ministry is signing the contracts after the recent Egyptian-Saudi border demarcation, and it is waiting the results of the survey in order to launch international tender for oil and gas exploration in the Red Sea, El Molla added following the meeting of the Investment Dispute Resolution Committee.

The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) is planning to launch an oil and gas exploration tender before the end of 2017, the minister told Amwal Al Ghad.

El Molla has also announced plans regarding the signing of contracts with Apache, Shell, and Apex as they were awarded a total of five concessions in the Western Desert.