The Extension of the Concession Agreement on the Meleiha Block in the Western Desert as ratified by the Parliament of the Arab Republic of Egypt has come into effect.

The extension of the Concession Agreement is valid till 2024. The fundamental document of the concession, the Production Sharing Agreement, was ratified by the Parliament of the Egypt and came into force on August 30, 1978.

Parties to the PSA include IEOC Production (subdivision of ENI Group) with 56% share, LUKOIL Overseas (24%) and International Finance Company (IFC), which holds 20% share. The development project is operated by Agiba, a joint venture of the state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), IEOC and IFC.

Original oil in place of the concession amounts to 90 million tons while initial recoverable reserves are 34 million tons of oil. More than 17 million tons of oil (the half of the initial recoverable reserves volume) has been produced on the block for the past 30 years of operation. There are 129 operating wells on the block.

800,000 tons of oil were produced on the field in 2006; the plan of this year is to produce 840,000 tons of oil. Meleiha is one of the most profitable and effective producing projects of LUKOIL Overseas.