New oil and gas sites opened to bids in Egypt

Egypt has invited international companies to bid to develop 13 new oil and gas sites in the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf of Suez and the western desert as the country seeks to reverse a fall in natural gas production.

The bids cover concessions that include seven undeveloped discoveries and six exploration areas, according to the Egypt Upstream Gateway website. 

A concession is a grant extended by a government to permit a company to explore for and produce oil, gas or mineral resources within a strictly defined geographical area, typically beneath government-owned land.

Bidding opened on Sunday and will close on May 4, the website said. It said that the seven offshore sites are in the Mediterranean Sea, and the six exploration sites in the Gulf of Suez and the western desert. Egypt’s western desert borders Libya.

The new sites could attract $700 million of investment, and perhaps more, if discoveries are made in the undeveloped areas, the local Arabic language daily Al-Ahram reported.

In an earlier tender in August, Egypt invited companies to bid to develop 12 blocks in the Mediterranean Sea and the Nile Delta. The bidding was launched by the state-run Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company.