The Italian oil and gas company Eni and its partners will invest $8bn in Egypt over the next five years, according to Guido Brusco, the company’s chief operating officer for global natural resources.

Under current plans, most of the funding will be used to develop existing oil and gas fields and to fund exploration activities.

Speaking at a meeting with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Brusco praised the Egyptian government’s support for companies operating in the oil and gas sector.

He also praised the government’s commitment to paying foreign partners, which he said has encouraged Eni to expand its production and exploration operations in the country.

Eni is now considering expanding into other sectors in Egypt, including rare-earth mining, Brusco said.

Eni is responsible for producing about 40% of Egypt’s natural gas production.

Recently, International Egyptian Oil Company, Eni’s subsidiary in Egypt, signed an agreement to drill three wells with investments of $100m in the East Port Said offshore area of the Mediterranean Sea.

In July, Agiba Petroleum Company, a joint venture of state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Eni, boosted gas production from the Arcadia West field in Egypt’s Western Desert.

Agiba started production from its Arcadia-28 well, achieving an output of 4,100 barrels of oil equivalent a day (boe/d), according to a statement from Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources.

The well was brought online on 19 July after an acid stimulation operation that used techniques previously applied in the nearby Iris well.

The Arcadia-28 well targeted the Masajid carbonate formation.

Agiba Petroleum Company announced the discovery of the Arcadia West well earlier this year.

The nearby Iris field was discovered in March last year.

Egypt is currently in the midst of a challenging period for its oil and gas sector.

Many oil and gas projects have faced disruptions due to currency issues linked to the weakened value of the Egyptian pound.

Egypt is struggling to meet domestic demand for natural gas, and earlier this year it halted production at several industrial facilities because of gas shortages.