Egypt signed 12 agreements with major international companies for oil and gas exploration in the eastern and western Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, and the Western Desert with a minimum investment of above $1 billion, according to minister of petroleum. The new agreements, which were recently approved by the cabinet and will be referred to the cabinet for approval, are a testament to the success achieved by the Egyptian petroleum sector, El-Molla added. The petroleum sector attracted major companies such as ExxonMobil and Chevron to work in the oil exploration sector in Egypt for the first time. The 12 agreements were signed with oil and gas giants such as the US Chevron, Italy's Edison, the UK's BP, France's Total, Royal Dutch Shell, the US Nobel, Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (Kufpec), and the UAE's Mubadala. On the Egyptian side, eight agreements were signed with the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) for exploration in the eastern and western Mediterranean, three agreements were signed with Ganoub El Wadi Petroleum Holding Company (Ganope) for exploration in the Red Sea, and one agreement was signed with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) for exploration in the Western Desert. With a minimum investment of $1 billion and a bonus signature of $19 million, the agreements include the drilling of 21 wells.
