International oil companies operating in Egypt are keen on increasing investments in Egypt and continuing their activities despite current political conditions, according to the First Deputy Minister of Petroleum. Mahmoud Nazim said that the ongoing trials of former regime figures did not affect the performance of companies or investment in the oil sector and that oil exploration continues. The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Petroleum said that the situation in Egypt is much better than in neighboring countries, denying that recent violence may be convincing companies to stop or cancel projects, pointing to the companies continuing to implement a number of petroleum projects. Nazim said that international companies are keen to increase their investments in Egypt and are confident that political and economic stability will come to Egypt.