Apache Corp, the Houston-based oil and gas exploration and production company, will invest a billion dollars in Egypt. The company's Chief Executive Officer Steve Farris is very optimistic about Egypt, especially after presidential elections.

"We are going to invest a billion dollars [in Egypt] in 2012. We invested about $1.1 billion in 2011," Farris told reporters during the official opening of Apache's A$1.1 billion Devil Creek gas processing plant, in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia.

The company's CEO, who visited Cairo last week for four days en route to Australia, assured that production operations will not change or be shut down, Dow Jones newswires reported on Saturday.

Last year, Apache kept its Egyptian operations running, despite the bloody uprising in the Arab nation that resulted in the ouster of former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak.

According to Apache's website, Egypt region represents Apache's largest acreage position with more than 11 million gross acres in 21 separate concessions (18 producing). Apache is the largest producer of liquid hydrocarbons and natural gas in the Western Desert and the second largest in Egypt.

Apache's production is operated under two joint ventures, Khalda and Qarun Petroleum Company.