RIYADH: Egypt has signed two agreements worth $506 million for oil exploration in the Eastern and Western deserts.
The agreements, with the Canadian Transglobe and Pharos Energy companies, included a grant signature of $67 million to drill 12 wells, the ministry of petroleum and mineral resources announced in a statement.
The deal with the Canadian Transglobe Co. includes the merger of the North west Gharib, West Gharib and West Bakr regions in the Eastern desert, and the financing of new investments for research and production of crude oil.
The agreement with Pharos Energy aims to finance investments for research, development and production of crude oil in the Fayoum region in the Western Desert.
In light of the rise in global oil prices, this comes as part of the ministry’s effort to urge companies to further invest and intensify activities to maximize production rates, the minister, Tarek El Molla, said.
