CAIRO, Aug 13 – Egypt has opened its 2026 international bidding round for oil and gas exploration, offering 14 blocks to local and international energy companies as the government looks to attract new investment and increase domestic oil and gas production.
Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Karim Badawi announced the bid round during a meeting with senior officials from international energy companies operating in Egypt, where they discussed recent exploration activities, plans to develop oil and gas fields and ways to increase production over the next five years.
Eight of the blocks are being offered by the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) in areas covering the Mediterranean Sea, Nile Delta and North Sinai, with bids open from August 11 until December 11, 2026, at noon Cairo time.
The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) is offering six more blocks in the Gulf of Suez, Sinai and the Western Desert, with companies required to submit their bids by November 11, 2026, at noon Cairo time.
The blocks are being offered through the Egypt Upstream Gateway under production-sharing agreements, with the online platform providing companies with technical information, handling questions and managing the submission and review of bids.
Badawi said the blocks offer a range of investment opportunities, with some located close to existing oil and gas fields, pipelines, processing plants and export facilities, which could help companies reduce development costs and bring new discoveries into production faster.
The areas include both offshore and onshore prospects, giving companies different options for exploration and development depending on their interests.
The government expects the bid round to create opportunities for energy companies already working in Egypt while also attracting new international firms to the country’s oil and gas sector.
The move is part of Egypt’s wider plan to increase exploration, bring more fields into production and raise oil and gas output over the next five years.
