Several US oil companies have expressed their interested in developing Egypt’s offshore oil and natural gas resources and are expected to bid in the sale of exploration blocks in the Red Sea, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla said yesterday, without naming specific companies, according to Reuters. An exploration and production tender for oil and gas in offshore concession blocks in the Mediterranean is due to close on 29 November, while a second bidding round for concession areas in the Red Sea is scheduled to open before the end of year.