Despite Libya’s objection: Egypt announces a global exploration tender 2022 for oil and gas in controversial areas in Mediterranean and onshore.

Cairo, 27 December 2022 (Lana) – The Egyptian government, through the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, has issued new global “tender” for research and exploration for natural gas and oil in (6) offshore blocks in the Mediterranean Sea, and (6) onshore blocks, despite Libya’s objections to demarcate Egypt's maritime borders unilaterally without agreement with Libya.

Egypt Digital Portal for Exploration and Production affiliated to the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, reported that Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tariq El-Molla, announced the launch of a new global tender to search for natural gas and crude oil in 12 regions in the Mediterranean and the Nile Delta through the Egypt Portal Digital Exploration and Production, which provides digital and quick access to basic information about the proposed bids and its regions, technical data for each region, seismic survey and well data, in addition to the basic terms and conditions, agreement form and procedures for participation in the bid.

The portal quoted Minister Al-Mulla as saying that the bid put forward by the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company "EGAS" for 2022 comes as an extension of the ministry's work strategy, in a way that serves the Egyptian state's direction to intensify research and exploration activities for its natural gas resources in the Mediterranean.

The Libyan authorities represented in the House of Representatives, the Libyan Government of National Unity, and the head of the Libyan government appointed by Parliament had rejected Egypt's decision to unilaterally demarcate its maritime borders and considered it ‘a violation of the territorial waters and the continental shelf of the State of Libya, and an unfair demarcation under international law for its unilateral declaration’.

  The Libyan authorities stressed in their statements that ‘demarcation of maritime borders between the two neighbouring countries must be carried out by means of an agreement through negotiations that guarantee the interests of the two parties and respect the principle of equality.

=Lana=