BP wins offshore exploration block in Egypt

UK oil and gas major BP announced on Monday that it won a bid for an offshore exploration block in Egypt as part of the 2022 International Bid Round. The bid round is held by the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS).

The block is called EGY-MED-E8 (East Port Said) and is situated in the Mediterranean Sea, about 50-90 km from the city of Port Said.

BP shares a 33 percent stake in the block, with Qatar Energy (33 percent) and Eni (34 percent) as it will be the operator of the block.

The block spans over an area of around 2620 sq km with water depths of around 700 meters.

Nader Zaki, BP’s Regional President for the Middle East and North Africa, said the bid showed BP’s commitment to finding resilient hydrocarbon resources to be able to meet Egypt’s growing energy demand.

BP is also interested in exploration opportunities near existing infrastructure, Zaki added.