Egypt to announce bids for oil exploration in April

Egypt will launch international bids for oil exploration in 11 blocks in the Western Desert and the Gulf of Suez before the end of April, Minister of Petroleum Tarek El-Molla said in a press release on Tuesday.

The ministry will also provide international bids for gas exploration in 2016, said El-Molla.

Arrears owed by the government to oil firms stood at $3.2 billion at the end of March, Reuters reported earlier this month.

Egypt became a net importer of natural gas in the past few years, having previously been a net exporter, on the back of rising consumption and falling production.

The Arab country is seeking to attract investments in the energy sector to revive an economy battered by years of political upheavals following the 2011 uprising.