Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla toured a number of petroleum projects in the Gulf of Suez and Ras Ghareb regions in the Red Sea, the ministry said in a statement.

The projects visited by El Molla included new production facilities for the Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company (GUPCO) and the General Petroleum Company (GPC) to follow up work programs and development plans to increase production rates and support the volume of oil and gas reserves.

During the visit, El Molla stressed the importance of continuing to support the oil and gas sector’s production companies in order to drive production from existing fields. He also highlighted the importance of making new discoveries, working to reduce production costs, and expanding the use of modern technologies to improve the efficiency of the production process.

He further highlighted the significance of optimizing the available production facilities and working on developing infrastructure, including pipelines and storage warehouses. He added that this should be done in full cooperation with other companies in the area.

GPC’s Chairman, Nabil Abdel Sadek said that its production reached around 74,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), due to increased E&P activities in production and exploration as well as notable achievements in the fields of development and investments.

Moreover, the Northwest Seas gas field has been put on production at an initial rate of 15 million cubic feet of gas per day, Abdel Sadek added.