Medserv, which is an oil and gas logistics company, has extended the lease on its base at Malta Freeport for a further 15 years.

The agreement will now expire in 2060.

The new agreement provides that the company will invest €10 million over the next 10 years and almost double its workforce of 50 to 90 people.

The agreement was renewed now because of the nature of the fossil fuel industry and to secure investments.

Medserv chairman Anthony Diacono said the company was optimistic of future prospects. It was committed to retain Malta as its base but it also has bases in Libya and now Cyprus, to help it exploit any fossil fuel finds in the east Mediterranean.

It was hoping that business in Libya would grow substantially next year. The company was right now only working on existing platforms because oil companies had yet to re-enter the country.

With any luck they would be in place next year.

Medserv pays €430,000 to the Freeport per year. This sum will grow incrementally every five years.

Transport Minister Austin Gatt described Medserv as a success story, which from a small local company managed to expand first into North Africa and now into the eastern Mediterranean.

Its decision to invest €10 million was a vote of confidence in local industry.

Dr Gatt said that the government’s philosophy was to help companies willing to take a risk.

The extension agreement, he said, was based on mutual trust and he hoped it would be a spring board for further success.

The agreement was signed between Mr Diacono and Freeport chairman Mark Portelli.