Egypt's oil ministry signed eight deals for oil and natural gas exploration worth $660 million with several foreign firms including BP, Austria's OMV and Norway's Statoil.

The ministry said in a statement the exploration deals  cover an area of 34,000 sq km, including offshore fields in the Mediterranean Sea, along with areas in the Nile Delta and the Western Desert.

The companies, which also include Germany's RWE and Algeria's Sonatrach, have committed to sink 28 wells, the statement said.