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CAIRO, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Egypt and Germany's giant Wintershall DEA signed on Monday a deal to explore oil and natural gas in the Nile Delta, with a minimum investment of 43 million U.S. dollars, said Egypt's Petroleum Ministry.

Under the deal, the German company will explore oil and gas in the East Damanhour Bloc in the Nile Delta in north of Cairo, said a statement by the ministry.

The minimum investment is 43 million dollars to drill eight wells, with a signature grant of 11 million dollars, according to the statement.

The deal brings the number of petroleum deals that Egypt has signed with investors in the past four years to 61, with a minimum investment of about 6 billion dollars.

Egypt aims to become a regional hub for the trade of oil and liquefied natural gas after major discoveries were made in recent years, including the Zohr gas field in the Mediterranean which holds an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas.