In Egypt, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El-Molla (photo) on Tuesday entered into two agreements with HBSI and EGPC, for oil and gas exploration.

The first agreement signed by the Minister, was with Tunisia’s HBSI for the Haliph area in the Western Desert. The least possible investment of approximately $9 million as well as a signature bonus of $1 million, to spud exploration wells was included in the agreement.

However, the second agreement is a contract extension for an extra 10 years for EGPC’s Gazurina Oilfield located in the Gulf of Suez, Petroleum Africa reports.