Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tareq el Molla on witnessed the handover of the first Egypt-made oil rig at the factory of the Egyptian Petroleum HH Rig Manufacturing Company in the Red Sea port of Ain Sokhna.

The minister was accompanied by Suez Governor Abdel Meguid Saqr and a number of officials in the petroleum sector.

Molla said the start of manufacturing oil rigs locally is a new, important step that enables the Egyptian petroleum sector to make optimal use of its capabilities and accelerate its plans to drill wells with a view to increasing the production of oil and gas resources.

He added that the manufacture of the oil rig, completed with total investments worth $6.5 million, is a model of fruitful economic cooperation between Egypt and China and a successful example of developing cooperation to transfer manufacturing technology from China to Egypt rather than importing.