Egypt's minister of petroleum and mineral resources has 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 include the drilling of three exploration wells located in sectors 7 and 8 in the country's southern Al-Baraka field in Aswan, 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 Ganoub El-Wadi Petroleum Holding Company (GANOPE), IPR and Mediterra.
Minister of Petroleum Tarek al-Molla said the deals will help increase oil production to meet local needs.
Al-Molla added that the new agreements will intensify research activities in the southern area of the country which has promising petroleum prospects.
