Egypt Approves Oil Exploration Deal with Eni, Tharwa

Egypt has approved an exploration agreement with Italy's Eni and the Egyptian Tharwa company to search for oil and gas in the Mediterranean off the coast of northern Sinai, the Egyptian oil minister said on Wednesday.

Under the deal, Eni and Tharwa will spend $105 million in two stages over six years, which involve drilling one well in the first stage and another in the second, Tarek El Molla told journalists.

Reporting by Momen Saeed Atallah, writing by Sami Aboudi