Egypt on Tuesday launched a new international bidding round for exploring natural gas and oil at 12 blocks in the Mediterranean and Nile Delta.
The bid, put forward by the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), comes as part of the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources' strategy to attract more investments to explore gas and oil in promising areas, Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla said in a statement.
El-Molla noted that the efforts serve Egypt's goal of intensifying research and exploration activities for its natural gas resources in the Mediterranean, in light of the intensive efforts by other Mediterranean countries to increase gas discoveries and production.
The minister added that the tender is the third launched through the Egyptian digital portal for exploration and production, which was created by the ministry in 2021 with the aim to attract investments for research and exploration.
The portal provides basic information about the proposed bid, in addition to the basic terms and conditions, agreement form, and procedures for joining the tender.
The total investments in Egypt's oil and gas sectors from 2014 to 2020 hit 74 billion U.S. dollars, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
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.
Editor: Leon
