Egypt seeks oil outside its borders for first time: Ministry

Egypt bought a stake in a block in Iraq from Kuwait Energy making it the first time in Egypt's history to explore for oil outside its borders, the Minister of Petroleum, Tarek El-Molla, said on Wednesday.

The deal with Kuwait Energy leaves Egypt with 10 percent of Block 9 in Basra in Iraq, a statement released by the ministry revealed.

The deal "is seen to meet the domestic needs for energy consumption as well as raising the country's revenues on the back of diversifying petroleum investments," said El-Molla in the statement.

Egypt has turned into a net importer of natural gas from a net exporter in the past few years on the back of rising consumption and falling productions.

The country's energy sector, already experiencing an energy crunch since the summer of 2008, took a blow following the 2011 uprising as arrears to foreign oil firms accumulated and production slowed.

El-Molla said that the recent agreement, which follows from an earlier agreement in March, improves Egyptian-Kuwaiti-Iraqi relations.