Egypt exploration deals signed

Two agreements have been signed between state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation and US-based Apache Corp for exploration in the country's Western Desert, Reuters has reported. Egypt's oil ministry said Apache will invest at least $55m to drill 13 wells under the agreements. Thomas Voytovich, vice president and general manager of Apache Egyptian Companies, told the news service the firm is spending around $1bn a year in Egypt and that he sees the figure being maintained or growing in coming years.