The Minister of Petroleum Abdullah Ghorab said there are great opportunities for cooperation and investment in petroleum sector between Egypt and Arab countries. The strategy is adopted by the Ministry of Petroleum seeks to achieve optimum utilization of all natural resources in Egypt, research and exploration by establishing joint projects with all Arab countries willing to invest in oil, gas and petrochemicals. He said Egypt can take advantage of all possibilities in Arab countries in terms of energy, capacity, labor, and experienced and trained manpower in Egypt to create more projects to support the industry. This will allow growth of the petroleum industry in Egypt promote Arab cooperation. There is a significant cooperation between Egypt and Kuwait in the oil sector, according to Ghorab in an interview Kuwaiti Seyasat newspaper. Kuwait contributed 60 percent in finding the first factory to produce oil and natural gas pipes. With investments of U.S. $85 million, production capacity increased to 150,000 tons of pipes per year. He explained the significance of projects providing the needs of the second stage of Arab gas pipeline project in Jordan. He added there is also the Sumed project involving Kuwait, which increased by 15 percent and links between the ports of Ain Sukhna on the Gulf and Sidi Kerir on the Mediterranean. A pipeline transports oil from the Arabian Gulf to the Mediterranean and from there to Europe and other various countries in the world. There is an agreement between both Egypt and Kuwait for supplies of Kuwaiti crude oil to be refined in labs in Egypt. He pointed out Egypt obtained a loan from the Kuwaiti Fund, more than a U.S. $100 million dollars to finance the Arab gas pipeline project. The Egyptian Minister of Petroleum said the Kuwaiti company Kufpec cooperates with the Italian company IOC for research and exploration for oil and gas in some areas of the Mediterranean Sea with investments of U.S. $5.21 million. They will also contribute to the development of Ras Knaess in the Western Sahara with the U.S. Apache Corp.
