Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, met with Apache’s CEO, John Christmann, and his accompanying delegation in order to discuss expanding the company’s exploration projects in Egypt, Al Mal  informed.

The meeting tackled developing and expanding exploration activities in Egypt. It further reviewed the conditions of current projects along with the company’s investment plans in the coming years, especially in the Western Desert, according to State Information Service.

The recent explorations in the Western Desert have great potential that will eventually increase the oil and gas reserves in Egypt.

El Molla expressed in the meeting that that the Ministry is keen to increase the petroleum investments of US companies in Egypt, which is considered as the cornerstone for the development and support of US investments in the Egyptian economy. Pointing out that the current visit of Egypt’s President, Abdel Fattah El Sisi, to the US will contribute to increasing the number of opportunities that will aid in supporting economic relations and strengthening partnerships between the two countries, especially in the oil and gas industry.

In addition, Christmann said that Apache Corporation has achieved a great success in oil and gas explorations since the start of its operations in Egypt in 1996, with investments worth more than $17b.