CAIRO: Egypt's Minister of Petroleum Abdallah Ghorab said that a plan is underway to explore for oil and natural gas in Sinai. The plan, to continue until the year 2014, aims to dig 60 oil wells with investments worth around $1 billion. Ghorab added in comments to local media that these wells should help meet the local market's needs and increase the strategic reserves of oil and natural gas. Negotiations with Spain to raise natural gas prices Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Mohamed Ghorab on Saturday said negotiations with Spain to increase natural gas exports prices are almost finalized in Cairo. Ghorab also said the ministry cooperated with the Ministry of Social Justice and Solidarity to distribute butane gas cylinders through coupons. Finance Minister Samir Radwan said on July 13 that the negotiations with Israel about the gas prices will be better after the approval of Jordan and Spain to raise the price of Egyptian gas to the world price. Radwan said that if the negotiation succeeded, it will provide about LE 4 billion that will contribute in raising the minimum limit of pension and closing the budget deficit. In a first Israeli reaction on the bombing of the Egyptian gas pipeline to Israel for the fourth time, Israeli Minister of Infrastructure Uzi Landau said that the economic relations with Egypt are deteriorating, stressing the need for Israel to search for alternative sources of energy instead of the Egyptian gas. BM
