The Oil Ministry is looking to attract USD 4 bn this fiscal year by offering up to 12 concessions, a government source told EnterpriseAM. The planned exploration tenders will coincide with the wrapping up of seismic surveys in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Suez, we were told.

The upcoming tender may see a notable uptick in interest from local energy players, following an in-the-works government push — which include fresh incentives for local investors — to increase local investment in the oil and gas sector, a government source told EnterpriseAM in August. The tender will include new fields and fresh exploration areas — including blocks being offered for the first time — as well as mature fields slated to be put back on the market, the source added.

REMEMBER- The planned offerings, which include several concessions in the Red Sea, follow Shell and its partners’ withdrawal from their two Egyptian Red Sea exploration blocks in March, followed by Chevron’s exit from its block in April — the last active exploration block in the Red Sea.

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