Egypt's minister of petroleum and mineral resources Tarek El-Molla signed three agreements on Tuesday for the exploration of oil and natural gas in the Mediterranean, Western Sahara and Nile Delta regions with investments worth $139.2 million (EGP 2.5 billion) The first agreement, worth $105 million, was signed between the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), Egypt's Tharwa Petroleum, and Italy's multinational gas and oil giant Eni to drill two new wells at Noor Al-Bahareya in Egypt's Mediterranean Sea. Molla said that the second agreement was signed with the Egyptian Petroleum Authority, Italy's Eni, and Croatia's Ina to drill nine wells in the area of Raas Qattara in Egypt's Western Desert, a total investment worth $11.7 million. The third agreement was made between the Egyptian Petroleum Authority, Italy's Eni, and British multinational oil company British Petroleum (BP) to drill four wells worth $22.5 million in the Nile Delta. The minister explained that a $55 million grant will be allocated for digging the 15 new wells. El-Molla said that the petroleum sector will continue to sign more agreements to attract foreign investments and that Egypt's petroleum prospects both across the land and sea sectors are strong.
