Egyptian petroleum Minister, Eng. Sameh Fahmi, declared that the international oil companies operating in Egypt are keen on increasing their investments and activities, despite the global financial crisis.

Fahmi pointed out that the international companies are eager to increase investments in Egypt, noting that three international companies are: British Gas (BG), Petronas of Malaysia, and the Italian Edison decided to allocate 2.1 billion dollars for the drilling of new production wells and the implementation of projects for the development of gas fields in western Delta, Rosetta, Rashid and Edko deep water of the Mediterranean, in the framework of the plan to increase the productivity of these fields, which currently covers more than 40% of the total output of Egypt.

This came after receiving a report from Dr. Sherif Sousse, manger of Rashid Petroleum Company, which confirmed the three international companies are keen on implementing many of the giant marine projects. He added that the projects will provide access to the distinguished Egyptian expertise. In addition to that, for the first time in the oil fields of Rashid, new technology is being used to extract the natural gas from the extra deep water of the Mediterranean Sea; such a highly complex technology is the installation of production facilities at the bottom of the sea using a specialized vessels.