Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, met with John Christmann, CEO of the American Apache Company, and David Chi, VP & Country Manager Apache Corporation, the ministry said in a statement.

The meeting reviewed the company’s activities in Egypt and its current programs and plans during the coming period to increase the volume of its work in the field of research, exploration, and production of oil and gas in its concession areas in the Western Desert.

El Molla stated that Apache has been operating in Egypt for more than 25 years in the Western Desert, and has achieved remarkable successes, making it the largest oil producer in Egypt.

For his part, Christmann highlighted that there are many opportunities available to achieve new discoveries in light of the good prospects for the Western Desert region and the availability of modern technologies and new drilling methods, which encourages Apache and boosts its desire to obtain new concession areas with high oil potential that contribute to achieving its plans to increase production rates during the coming period.

El Molla explained that Apache is an important partner to the petroleum sector, and that there is coordination and a common vision between the petroleum sector and Apache to continue pumping more investments and drilling more wells to achieve the common goal of both sides, which is to increase production rates, in the interest of both parties.

The minister highlighted the importance of expanding the use of advanced technologies and digital transformation, which contributes to raising the efficiency of operations and reducing production costs, pointing out the importance of using new and renewable energies such as solar energy to operate oil production sites instead of using diesel to generate electricity.