Eni and Tharwa Petroleum Company will start drilling the first exploratory well at Noor offshore gas field, North of Sinai province, next week, an official at the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) told Reuters.

The Egyptian cabinet had approved in March 2018 an exploration and production (E&P) agreement for the North of Sinai offshore concessions in the Mediterranean Sea.

According to the agreement, Eni and Tharwa will invest $105 million to drill two exploratory wells in two phases over six years.

Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi announced in June that the company is investing a further $3 billion into the sector on top of the $8.4 billion it is already investing, Egypt Oil & Gas reported.

The statements came during a meeting between Descalzi and oil minister Tarek El Molla.