Egyptian President, Abd El Fattah El Sisi, met with Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, to review the ministry’s plan as a part of Egypt’s strategic development program. The ministry’s roadmap includes boosting crude oil and natural gas production through increased exploration work and drilling of exploratory and development wells. The plan further includes adding new discoveries to production and launching more tenders as well as improving the existing fields, reported Al Borsa.

Spokesperson of the presidential office, Alaa Yousef, stated that El Molla pointed out the continuous expansion in natural gas production, as 2017 will witness the first production of North of Alexandria field, Zohr field and Atoll field with total investments reaching $31b. This will have a positive effect on Egypt’s gas supplies and will help in filling the gap between supply and demand and relieve the stress on the foreign currency resources.

El Molla explained that the ministry’s plan further includes the  development of refineries and improvements to the petrochemical industries, as many small and medium complementary industries are depending of them.