The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) has officially launched a new international bid round, offering exploration and exploitation rights for 12 oil and gas blocks in the Mediterranean and the Nile Delta. This bid round, which includes 10 offshore blocks and two onshore blocks, marks a significant opportunity for international investors to explore and develop Egypt's promising energy resources.
Bidding for these blocks will be conducted through the Egypt Upstream Gateway (EUG) online platform, a state-of-the-art digital tool introduced by Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in 2021. The platform streamlines the bidding process, providing easy access to up-to-date technical data, thereby accelerating the evaluation of investment opportunities. Interested parties have until February 25, 2025, to submit their bids.
This initiative aligns with Egypt’s broader strategy to enhance its role as a key player in the global energy sector, particularly in natural gas exploration in the Mediterranean, a region recognized for its substantial untapped potential. Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi, emphasized that this bid round is crucial for intensifying exploration activities, which are essential to boosting natural gas production and meeting both local and international energy demands.
“This bid round not only supports our national goals but also reinforces Egypt's commitment to the global energy market by increasing our natural gas production,” Badawi stated. He also highlighted the availability of additional investment opportunities in exploration and field development across open areas in Egypt.
The EUG platform indicates that there are currently 472 wells within the 12 blocks, with drilling operations having been conducted by more than 30 operators since 1950. Notably, these wells span a variety of depths and locations, both onshore and offshore, across the Nile Delta and Mediterranean regions.
Egypt's recent energy landscape has seen remarkable developments, including the discovery of the massive Zohr offshore gas field, estimated to hold 30 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. This discovery has positioned Egypt as a significant player in the global energy market, particularly in the Mediterranean basin.
In addition to oil and gas exploration, Egypt is also making strides in renewable energy. In May, a consortium led by Infinity Power, Masdar, and Hassan Allam Utilities signed a landmark agreement with the Egyptian government to develop a 10-gigawatt wind farm. This project, one of the largest in the world, is set to produce nearly 48,000 gigawatt-hours of clean energy annually and will play a critical role in reducing Egypt’s carbon footprint by nine percent.
The wind farm is expected to save Egypt approximately $5 billion annually in natural gas costs and contribute significantly to the country’s goal of sourcing 42 percent of its energy from renewables by 2030.
This bid round by EGAS, coupled with Egypt’s renewable energy initiatives, underscores the country's commitment to diversifying its energy portfolio and attracting substantial international investment in its energy sector.
