Eni Signs New Deal to Invest U.S.$1 Billion in Egypt's Oil Sector

Petroleum Minister Tareq el Mulla and CEO of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) Abed Ezz el Regal and CEO of Natural Resources Activities at the Italian company Eni Alessandro Politi signed a deal on oil exploration and exploitation in the Gulf of Suez and the Nile Delta, with total investments exceeding dlrs 1 billion.

The Petroleum Ministry, in a statement on Friday, said that under the deal, Eni company is abiding by spending at least additional dlrs 20 million to dig four wells.

The deal falls within the Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ministry's strategy on increasing production rates and facing the natural decline in the wells via using the latest technologies in oil-producing areas, the ministry said.

The ministry's strategy also aims at encouraging partners to pump more investments into the field of oil and gas exploration and back the country's proven oil reserves, it added.