Egypt inks oil and gas exploration deals with US IPR, Cyprus Mediterra

Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Tarek el-Molla signed two agreements for oil and gas exploration in Upper Egypt with U.S. company IPR and Cyprus subsidiary Mediterra, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The agreements involve the drilling of three exploration wells located in sectors 7 and 8 in the country’s southern Al-Baraka field in Aswan, with investments worth a minimum $4.3 million and a one-off fee for the licence called a signature bonus, totalling $200,000.

The contracts were signed between Egypt’s state-run Ganoub El-Wadi Petroleum Holding Company’s (GANOPE) chairman Sherif Sousa, IPR’s country chairman Mahmoud Dabbous, and Mediterra’s director Memet Kont.

Minister of Petroleum Tarek al-Molla said the deals would help increase oil production to meet local needs.

The new agreements will intensify research activities in Egypt’s southern area which has promising petroleum prospects, the minister added.