By: AGBI

Egypt has launched a new global tender for oil and gas exploration in four Red Sea regions.

The move aims to attract new foreign investment and boost domestic natural gas production, Egypt’s petroleum ministry said in a statement.

The tender was launched by the state-owned South Valley Egyptian Petroleum Holding Company, the petroleum minister Karim Badawi said at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (Adipec) in the UAE capital.

The tender offers an incentive system for companies who invest in virgin and deep waters, he said.

The Red Sea region is one of the most important oil zones offering promising opportunities for discoveries, the minister added.

The deadline for submitting bids is May 3, 2026.

Last month Egypt unveiled a five-year plan to boost oil and gas production, marking one of its largest exploration drives.

Under the programme, Cairo aims to drill 480 exploration wells, with total investments exceeding $5.7 billion.

Egypt, once a natural gas exporter, has become a net importer as a result of rapid domestic demand growth and declining local production.

In August prime minister Mostafa Madbouly announced that new projects and the awarding of contracts to foreign oil majors would increase Egypt’s gas output, enabling it to become an exporter again by 2027. 

The target is to gradually increase production to 6.6 billion cubic feet per day by 2027.

Egypt’s import bill for liquefied natural gas and petroleum products has risen by 60 percent so far in 2025 to $20 billion from $12.5 billion in 2024, according to Bloomberg data.