By Seyiwa Mausi Koshoedo
Egypt has opened an international bidding round for 14 new oil and natural gas exploration blocks as part of efforts to attract fresh investment, boost domestic production and strengthen the country’s energy security.
Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi announced the bidding round on Wednesday, saying the concessions cover both offshore and onshore areas across several major petroleum-producing regions.
The bidding, which opened on August 11, includes eight blocks administered by the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) in the Mediterranean Sea, Nile Delta and North Sinai.
Applications for the EGAS blocks will close at noon Cairo time on December 14, 2026.
The remaining six blocks, administered by the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), are located in the Gulf of Suez, Sinai and the Western Desert. The deadline for submitting bids for those concessions is November 11, 2026, at noon.
The blocks are open to both international and Egyptian oil and gas companies through the Egypt Exploration and Production portal.
Government targets higher production
The latest licensing round is part of Egypt’s broader five-year strategy to intensify exploration and drilling activities and increase domestic oil and gas production.
Under the plan, the government intends to drill more than 100 exploratory oil and gas wells, alongside more than 480 wells across the country’s petroleum-producing areas in 2026.
The government is also seeking to increase exploration and domestic production activities by 20 per cent this year while securing additional liquefied natural gas cargoes to strengthen energy supplies.
The strategy is aimed at discovering new reserves, meeting rising domestic energy demand and increasing exports of refined petroleum products.
Focus on reducing import bill
Egypt’s push to expand domestic exploration comes amid growing pressure from its energy import bill.
Oil imports rose by $973 million year-on-year to $2.39 billion in April 2026, although the figure was slightly lower than the $2.4 billion recorded in March. Fuel exports during the month stood at $708 million.
The government hopes increased domestic production will reduce dependence on imported energy and ease pressure on the country’s foreign exchange requirements.
Blocks offer investment advantages
According to Badawi, several of the blocks are located close to existing oil and gas fields, pipelines, processing facilities and export infrastructure.
The proximity to established infrastructure is expected to reduce development costs and enable successful discoveries to be connected more quickly to production and export networks.
The concessions are being offered under production-sharing agreements, while the digital bidding platform is designed to provide investors with access to technical data and facilitate responses to technical and financial inquiries.
The ministry said the licensing round is expected to attract both international companies already operating in Egypt and new global energy firms seeking to enter the Egyptian market.
Egypt targets energy self-sufficiency
The government is also seeking to restore investor confidence in the petroleum sector through reforms, incentives and the settlement of outstanding payments to international oil companies.
Officials expect increased exploration and production activity to help Egypt move towards its target of achieving oil and gas self-sufficiency by 2030.
Domestic natural gas production is currently estimated at about 4.1 billion cubic feet per day, compared with demand of roughly 6.2 billion cubic feet per day.
Egypt is also targeting an increase in renewable energy’s contribution to its overall energy mix to 45 per cent by 2028.
The latest bidding round therefore forms part of a wider strategy to expand hydrocarbon production in the short term while gradually diversifying the country’s energy mix.
