The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) has signed an exploration and production (E&P) agreement with Royal Dutch Shell and Malaysia’s Petronas worth $1 billion, Egypt Oil & Gas reports.

Under the terms of the agreement, the two firms will be responsible for drilling eight wells in the West Delta Deep Marine concession.

The agreement was signed by Minister of Petroleum Tarek El Molla.

During the signing the minister lauded Egypt’s recent successes at launching international tenders and signing new agreements, emphasizing their importance for achieving the country’s long-term economic plans.