Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla met with John Christmann, CEO of Apache Corporation; Stephen Riney, Chief Financial Officer of Apache; and David Chi, Vice President of Apache Corporation and Country Manager for Apache in Egypt.

The meeting reviewed the company’s plans and programs for exploration and drilling of wells, and its plans to increase the volume of its work in the search, exploration and production of oil and gas from its concession areas in the Western Desert, which witnessed during the recent period the implementation of an intensive drilling program for wells and their development. This contributed to overcoming the natural decline in wells and increasing production rates, which currently reached levels exceeding 145,000 barrels per day.

El Molla confirmed that Apache has recently achieved several successes in light of the ambitious well-drilling program being implemented in the Western Desert in cooperation with the petroleum sector and increasing production rates.

The minister stated that this represents a good incentive for the company to pump additional investments and work in new exploration areas in light of the availability of drilling rigs and new technologies and the development of drilling methods and theories with the presence of high oil potential in the Western Desert.

El Molla further discussed with Apache officials the opportunities to extend its activities to the promising Mediterranean region to search for natural gas, which constitutes a strong addition to Apache’s business portfolio in Egypt.

For his part, Christmann stated that the recent successes of Apache’s projects and activities strengthens its desire to invest in new concession areas, especially with the accumulated experiences and advanced technologies.

The meeting highlighted the importance of maximizing the use of solar energy in all petroleum production sites as an alternative to traditional energies for electricity generation. This contributes to reducing expenses and operating efficiency, and thus reducing the cost of a barrel in addition to reducing emissions.