Under the terms of the deal, PGS will carry out two and three-dimensional scans in the western zone of Egypt’s territorial Mediterranean waters in order to determine the presence of potential natural gas and petroleum.
EGAS expects the resulting seismic data to attract international exploration companies to the country.
EGAS Khaled Abdel Badie said the deal is in line with the country’s efforts to boost domestic natural gas production by increasing search and exploration operations as well as by conducting international auctions in unexplored areas.
Abdel estimates that 80% of natural gas reserves of Egypt are located in the eastern and central parts of its territorial waters in the Mediterranean.
Badie was quoted by The Cairo Post as saying: "The said areas have been the focal point of exploration deals during the past few years, and have been mostly covered through international bids."
The Egyptian Government has been looking ways to address the energy crisis triggered by rising power demand and shortfalls of fuel at power plants.
