Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Tarek El Molla met with Anuar Taib, Executive Vice President & CEO Upstream at Petronas, to discuss available opportunities for exploration and production (E&P) in the Red Sea, Egypt Oil & Gas reports.

The meeting comes as the Ministry of Petroleum prepares to launch the first Red Sea E&P tender at the end of 2018.

The meeting also discussed Petronas’s deepwater natural gas activities in the Mediterranean Sea, which are conducted in partnership with Royal Dutch Shell.

The minister and his guests talked about available opportunities for Petronas to develop its work in Egypt through the two ongoing E&P tenders launched by the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS).

During the meeting El Molla pointed out the commitment in decreasing the arrears owned to international oil companies (IOCs), which has had a positive effect in attracting bids to the E&P activities and increasing foreign investment.