Egypt has signed crude oil and petroleum agreements worth $506 million for exploration and production in its eastern desert and western desert regions.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources disclosed on Thursday that it signed two oil exploration deals in the Western and Eastern Deserts worth at least $506 million in total with Canada’s TransGlobe Energy Corporation and Pharos Energy.
The ministry, in an official statement, said the first agreement with the Canadian oil corporation includes integrating several concessions in the Eastern Desert and pumping new investments for crude oil exploration and production.
The second deal with Pharos Energy encompasses investments for crude oil exploration and production in the Western Desert’s Fayoum.
The deals also include a $67 million grant for drilling 12 wells in both regions.
Both deals aim to increase the production of crude oil under a plan to pump more investments in concession areas and use advanced technologies in oil exploration and production to increase reserves and oil production in the area, Petroleum Minister Tarek El-Molla said.
Thursday’s announcement comes a few weeks after Egypt awarded eight oil exploration blocks to oil giants Eni, British Petroleum, Apex International, Energy Egypt, United Energy, Enap Sipetrol, and Ina.
The giant oil corporations will invest a minimum of $250 million and drill 33 wells in blocks within the Mediterranean, Western Desert, and the Gulf of Suez.
Egypt has made a series of oil and gas discoveries in recent years, most notably the giant Zohr gas field off the Mediterranean. The gas field, which holds an estimated reservoir of 30 trillion cubic feet of gas, has drawn the interest of investors to the country’s energy sector.
It has also helped Egypt reach self-sufficiency in natural gas and pursue being a regional hub for gas exports.