RIYADH: Egypt is planning to drill 110 exploratory wells with a $1.2 billion investment in the fiscal year 2024/2025 to enhance the country’s oil and gas production capabilities, according to a top official. In a meeting with a parliamentary committee reviewing the new government’s program, Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi stated the country plans to drill 586 exploratory wells for gas and oil with an investment of $7.2 billion until 2030. He noted that there are currently 145 active exploration agreements in oil and gas with 40 partners. As of 2023, Egypt is among the five countries with the highest primary energy production and supply on the African continent, with an output of 29.8 million tonnes, according to Statista. “I would like to emphasize that my top priority and that of all sector employees is to continue coordination and cooperation with the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy to ensure the necessary fuel supplies for power plants,” Badawi said. He added: “We will coordinate with foreign partners to schedule and settle outstanding dues to encourage them to invest more in increasing oil and gas production as quickly as possible. We aim to establish incentive mechanisms to enhance production programs and expedite exploration programs, benefiting both parties.” The minister also noted that Egypt aims to boost short-term foreign investments by adopting innovative strategies to fully utilize its oil, gas, and mineral resources. This also includes maximizing the use of modern capabilities in digital transformation and artificial intelligence technologies across various sector activities. “We aim to attract foreign investments in the short term by adopting new investment approaches that fully utilize the sector’s capabilities in refining, petrochemical plants, and mineral resources,” Badawi said. He added: “We also plan to maximize the benefits of modern digital transformation capabilities and artificial intelligence technologies across the sector’s various activities.” However, the minister acknowledged that there are several challenges facing exploration activities. These include regional competition for investment opportunities, accompanying economic incentives, and slow implementation rates of exploration and development activities. Additionally, Badawi emphasized that increasing production is a top priority, explaining the current situation, which includes rising consumption. This is amid state efforts to build a new republic through infrastructure modernization, unprecedented urban expansion, and clean transport projects, as well as adding several large power stations and expanding industrial zones, in addition to increasing energy-intensive factories. He added that this is amid a 25 percent decline in crude oil and natural gas production from current production areas over the past three years. This has led to a need to import to bridge the gap between production and consumption due to rising partner dues, which have slowed exploration and development plans. Regarding the mining sector, the minister explained that efforts to develop this sector and utilize diverse mineral resources in Egypt, expanding extractive industries, will include several axes.