Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek el-Molla recently announced that Egypt has reached a record in the production of crude oil, exceeding 65,000 barrels per day, for the first time since 1957.

During a Sept. 13 meeting of the General Petroleum Company's General Assembly, which he presided over, Molla stressed the importance of increasing research work and activities, exploration, development of existing fields and setting new production wells to increase production, in addition to developing the main infrastructure needed for ongoing production operations and enhanced exploitation.

Egypt is considered one of the first countries in the world to achieve a precedent in all stages of petroleum production, as it started in 1886 drilling the first well in the Jamsa area on the west coast of the Red Sea. Field production began in 1910, and petroleum discoveries in Egypt followed. In 1961, the first sea petroleum field in Egypt and the Middle East — Belayim marine oil field — was discovered.

The Western Desert region represents the largest part of crude oil production in Egypt with 56%, followed by the Gulf of Suez with 23%, the Eastern Desert with 12% and the Sinai Peninsula with 9%, through 43 companies, the most important of which are Khaleda Petroleum Company, Belayim Petroleum Company (Petrobel), GAPCO Company, General Petroleum Company, Agiba Petroleum Company and Badr al-Din Petroleum Company. The major foreign companies operating in production activities in Egypt are the American Apache Corporation, the Italian Eni, the Emirati Dragon Oil and the Dutch Shell.