Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum & Mineral Resources, Tarek El-Molla has signed two agreements with two state-run agencies. The trilateral agreement touches on exploring new petroleum and gas wells in the Western Desert, with minimum investments reaching $4 million. A press statement said on Sept 5.

The agreement between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and the Egyptian National Petroleum for Exploration and Development Company (ENPEDCO) stipulates that the latter is committed to drilling four exploratory wells located at southeast of Abu Sinan and southeast of Ras Qatara in the Western Desert of Egypt.

Following the signing ceremony, El-Molla confirmed that the petroleum sector focuses on exploring a number of new promising geological components in the country’s Western Desert.

This requires, the Egyptian official reiterated, stepping up joint efforts to explore crude oil and gas at such oil-rich locations geologically wise.