Cairo, Aug 28 (IANS): Khalda Petroleum Company announced a new oil discovery in the Kalabsha development area of Egypt's Western Desert.

In a statement on Tuesday, Khalda, a joint venture between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation and US Apache Corporation, said the well was tested by drilling 270 feet into the Paleozoic sands.

The recovery on a 1-inch production opening was 7,165 barrels of oil per day with a quality of 44 degrees and 23 million cubic feet of associated gas, reports Xinhua news agency, citing the statement.

The electrical logs of the well showed evidence of petroleum in the Paleozoic component, with a total net thickness of 462 feet, the company added.

Also on Tuesday, the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced that the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company has launched a new international 2024 bid round for the exploration and exploitation of natural gas and crude oil in 12 blocks in the Mediterranean and Nile Delta.

The bid is part of the ministry's efforts to attract new investments to Egypt in line with its strategy to exploit promising opportunities in gas and oil exploration, the ministry said in a statement.

In July, Egypt announced plans to drill 110 exploratory wells for gas and oil, with a total investment of 1.2 billion US dollars during the 2024/2025 fiscal year.

Egypt aspires to become a regional trade hub for oil and liquefied natural gas after major discoveries in the country over recent years, including the Zohr gas field in the Mediterranean, which holds an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas.