Egypt’s oil minister has revealed that the country will search for oil outside its own borders for the first time after signing an agreement with Kuwait Energy for part of a concession in Iraq.

Kuwait Energy is to give up 10 % of a concession in Basra, southern Iraq, for exploration by Egypt’s state oil company, Tarek al-Mullah told Cairopost in a statement.

“The agreement opens up the space for the oil sector to find sources of oil outside Egypt for the first time, following the example of many other countries,” Mullah said.

Financial support from Gulf States such as Kuwait has helped Cairo keep its economy afloat and relieve an energy crisis after the military ousted former President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013 following mass protests in opposition to his rule.

Meanwhile Mursi’s government was held responsible for energy shortages shortly before his ouster.

Egypt has moved from exporting energy to being a net energy importer as domestic production has failed to keep pace with rising demand. The government is however seeking substitute solutions in order to help the country survive with its worst energy crisis in decades.

“This is an important step for securing energy supplies from outside Egypt in order to partially meet the demands of the local market,” said al-Mullah.

Production in the concession areas’ first well, Fayhaa 1, is anticipated to begin in October with an initial return of 5,000 bpd with the number projected to reach 150,000 bpd by 2020 to 2021.