President Abdel Fattah El Sisi issued a presidential decree allowing the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, to contract with the Egyptian National Petroleum for Exploration and Development Company (ENPEDCO) and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) to explore oil at Abu Sinan and Ras Qattara concessions in the Western Desert, the Official Gazette has published on October 30.

The decree comes in light of the agreements signed by El Molla in September, which allow the two companies to invest at least $4 million to drill four exploration wells in the region.