Egypt has signed an initial deal with the world’s largest oilfield services company, Schlumberger, to set up the country's first oil and gas exploration website, the petroleum ministry said on Tuesday.

The website will offer and promote investment opportunities for oil and gas search and exploration, in a way that "helps global oil firms take decisions regarding putting new investments into Egypt," the ministry said in a statement sent to Ahram Online.

The new website will feature a database for information on all stages of drilling, exploration and production of oil and gas projects, with the aim of enhancing project follow-up and achieve effective decision-making, the ministry said.

The deal is part of the digital transformation of Egypt's oil and gas sector, the ministry said.

The Egyptian government is pushing towards digitisation of government services and payments more broadly, as part of a move towards modernisation.

The signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Schlumberger took place during the first day of the of the Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS 2020), which is being held under the theme of "North Africa And the Mediterranean: Delivering The Needs of Tomorrow."

Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi opened the exhibition, which will see the participation of more than 270 local and international industrial experts, along with 1,600 participants.

About 14 countries are participating in the event alongside 15 international petroleum companies and more than 450 exhibitors.

In a separate statement, the ministry said an initial deal had been signed with British Petroleum and Schlumberger to work together on the digital transformation of the search and exploration market in the east Mediterranean region.