Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi has met with Greg McDaniel, Apache Vice President and acting country manager, to discuss the company's activities and business plan for increasing natural gas production from its concession areas in Egypt during the coming period. During the meeting, Badawi affirmed that the priorities of the new government in increasing the production of its petroleum resources are coming in line with the work on increasing confidence in the investment climate and attracting new investments. He noted that the partners of the petroleum sector are extremely cooperative and supportive of the Egyptian state's development goals. The minister pointed out the importance of the efforts exerted by Apache and the close cooperation between the two sides, stressing the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources' (MoPMR) support for the tireless efforts made by Apache in the fields of exploration, development, and production and that the Ministry has the needed flexibility to fi nd incentives that encourage pumping more investments, as it works with the government to confront all challenges. For his part, McDaniel expressed Apache's confidence in Egypt and its efficient work over the past years, especially the past two years, to intensify drilling activities and achieve distinguished business results in its concession areas. He also expressed his appreciation for the announcement of the formation of an advisory committee which is primarily assigned to work on increasing field productivity and managing oil reservoirs. Source: State Information Service Egypt