Reuters: Egypt signs first gas fracking contract with Apache, Shell

Egypt has signed its first contract to extract gas by fracking in a deal with Apache and Shell Egypt that includes investments of $30-$40 million, the oil ministry said on Wednesday, part of efforts to boost output and ease a lingering energy crunch.

"The project will require horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, which is the same as the shale gas production method used in the United States," the oil ministry statement said.

The ministry said in a statement that the deal to drill three wells in the Abu al-Ghardeeq region of the Western Desert, about 200 km west of Cairo, was Egypt's first contract for the production of unconventional gas. MORE