Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources will issue a new tender for gas exploration in the Red Sea in September, according to a news report.

The bidding comes after three oil companies, including Shell, Chevron, and Mubadala, relinquished their gas exploration concessions in the Red Sea earlier this year after seismic surveys in their concessions yielded uneconomic results, Ashraq News reported, citing a senior government official.

Four major areas will be put up for bidding for global companies in the Red Sea, the report said. The government will offer incentives for bid winners.

Cairo needs 6.2 billion cubic feet per day, while its daily production stands at 4 billion cubic feet.

The government seeks to increase natural gas production to 5 billion cubic feet per day by year-end, the report said.

(Writing by P Deol; Editing by Anoop Menon)
(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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