Petroleum Minister Tarek Mulla had talks on Saturday with Malaysia's PETRONAS President and Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Wan Zulkiflee on means of enhancing bilateral relations in the fields of petroleum and natural gas.

The talks also tackled the Egyptian petroleum strategy which aims at upping the Mediterranean Sea output, especially of natural gas, in view of mammoth discoveries.

The minister said the talks reviewed means of turning Egypt into a regional energy center and establishing a natural gas regulatory agency in Egypt.

Mulla underlined the petroleum sector's commitment to paying overdue funds for foreign companies, noting that the ministry was mulling means of avoiding piling financial commitments again.

The talks also touched on preparations for implementing the ninth stage of development works in a franchise area of Shell and PETRONAS.

Under the set plan, the two companies would dig eight wells in west Delta area at about 950 million dollars. The project is expected to produce about 387 million cubic feet of natural gas daily, he said.

At the end of the meeting, the PETRONAS president invited Mulla to attend Asia Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition due to be held in Kuala Lumpur on May 7 through 9.

Source: MENA