President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, to review exploration and production (E&P) activities and the number of new wells planned for 2018, Egypt Oil & Gas reports.

El Molla pointed out the ministry’s keenness to maximize the benefit of the opportunities available in the E&P field. During the meeting, the minister further discussed the latest projects implemented by Arab Petroleum Pipelines Company (Sumed), and the status of work at the Abu Madi pipeline.

The meeting further reviewed the petroleum products’ trading and storage project, as well as establishing an offshore berth in Ain Sokhna for this project. Moreover, the two officials discussed the operational status of the refining projects of Assiut Oil Refining Company (ASORC), the mazut hydro-cracking complex, and the petrochemical complex in Suez.

During the meeting, El Molla stated that Egypt had already connected 8.6 million households to the national natural gas grid, pointing out the importance of coordination between the ministry and various governorates in this regard.