Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a decree granting the Petroleum Ministry the permission to amend the agreement on oil exploration in Khalda region in Western Desert, according to Amwal Al Ghad.

The agreement was signed between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Apache Khalda Corporation LDC, El Bawaba News reported.

The presidential decree was issued after the Egyptian parliament approved proposed amendments to the oil exploration agreement.

In June, Apache had signed a five-year extension agreement to its Khalda-2 drilling concession in the Western Desert with EGPC. The agreement includes an expected investment of $40m in the digging of ten new wells in Khalda.