Egypt Expects to Sign 15 Oil, Gas Exploration Agreements Soon

Egypt is expected to sign 15 agreements on oil and gas exploration in coming days, country’s Minister of Petroleum Sherif Ismail said.

The North Africa nation has already inked 35 agreements including 27 new ones on exploration and eight old agreements that have been modified, reported Egypt Independent newspaper.

The government is moving toward importing gas which is will be taking place for the first time and requires the provision of specialized ports for gas liquefaction, Ismail said on Tuesday during an economic conference at Akhbar Al-Youm Academy sponsored by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

He added that building specified ports requires time, and the completion of the first port should be in December 2014, reported Egypt Independent Wednesday.

"We seek to make up for the lack of production by exploring new fields, mainly the Dennis and Crown field in Port Said and Northwest Delta in Alexandria," said Ismail.

He pointed out that the north Alexandria project will produce 25 percent of Egypt's natural gas.