State-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation and Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company have announced its plans to launch a new oil and gas exploration bid round to ramp up exploration work. It is reported that the oil and gas exploration bid round will take place before the end of February.
The oil and gas exploration bid round is expected to include offshore blocks in the Mediterranean and Nile Delta, according to the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources H.E. Tarek El Molla. In addition, onshore areas in the Western Desert and Eastern Desert will also be a part of the bid round.
Nine exploration and production agreements were signed prior to the announcement of the oil and gas exploration bid round. The deal is worth more than $1 billion, media reports said. With Egypt set to launch a new exploration bid round, additional offshore oil and gas tracts will be provided across the country, media reports said.
Under the terms of agreement, 17 new exploration wells will be drilled in the Mediterranean and Red Sea. In January, it was reported that three additional agreements were pending, resulting in a total of 12 agreements. That said, these agreements in total will target 23 wells in nine regions in the Mediterranean and three in the Red Sea.
UAE energy firm Dana Gas has posted a 2020 net loss of $376 million amid impairments on Egyptian assets. It is reported that the impairment took place amid a sharp decline in oil prices and the contagion effects of the coronavirus pandemic.