Egypt Plans to Explore More Gas, Oil Reserves

In a step intended to explore more gas and oil reserves, Egypt awarded eight oil and gas exploration blocks to BP Plc, ENI, Apex International, Energean, and United Energy.

 According to a statement released by the Petroleum Ministry on Monday, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla revealed that eight blocks were awarded in total, with the companies to invest a minimum of $250 million and drill at least 33 exploration wells.

The announcement came just after Egypt’s first global oil and gas exploration auction that was held by the state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company for 24 blocks through a new digital website aiming to lure gas and oil exploration companies.

The website, which is dubbed ‘Egypt Upstream Gateway’, was established in February 2020 after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was inked between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation and oilfield services firm Schlumberger on the portal during EGYPS 2020.

It's worth mentioning that Egypt has made a series of oil and gas discoveries in recent years, most notably the giant Zohr gas field off the Mediterranean.