Red Sea oil bids expected in Q1 2018: Minister

CAIRO - 1 January 2018: "Egypt will bid concessions and areas on the Red Sea for oil and gas exploration after finishing seismic survey before the end of the first quarter of 2018," Minister of Petroleum Tarekel-Molla said in a Monday statement.

Norwegian geophysical company TGS and Texas-based Schlumberger started in December working on their new 2D seismic project on the Red Sea waters of Egypt.

The Ministry of Petroleum, represented by South Valley Egyptian Petroleum Holding Company (Ganope), signed in July an agreement with Schlumberger and TGS to provide the government with geo-science data for exploring and producing oil and gas, with $750 million contracts to start collecting the geo-science data in Egyptian waters.

Under the agreement, the two companies have, minimum, a 15-year period of exclusive multi-client rights in approximately 70,000 square kilometers of open area on the Red Sea to do the seismic survey.

Minister of Petroleum Tarekel-Molla disclosed in July that Egypt plans to explore oil in the Red Sea for the first time in history, following the maritime demarcation agreement signed between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, with expectations of huge findings in the new area.

Gas and oil explorations usually exist in the Mediterranean Sea, Nile Delta, Eastern Desert, Gulf of Suez, and east of the Western Desert, making the Red Sea a virgin area for exploration.