CAIRO — Egypt"s Minister of Petroleum Tarek Al-Molla on Friday said nine new agreements, valued at more than $1 billion, were signed with local and international companies for the exploration of oil and natural gas. The exploration will cover regions in the east and west of the Mediterranean Sea and regional waters of the Red Sea with six large companies for drilling 17 wells, the minister said in a statement. "Egypt seeks luring new international investments in gas and oil exploration, and concluding deals with big companies as a priority," he added. He noted that developing many items of the oil deals has contributed a lot to boost the competitiveness of Egypt as an attractive destination for investments amid stable economic conditions and reform. The nine deals are part of 12-new-agreements that have been targeted since March 2020 with a minimum investment estimated at $1.4 billion for drilling 23 wells, nine of them offshore the Mediterranean and three in the Red Sea, the minister of oil added. Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and Total are among the signatories. — WAM