The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) is preparing for a new bid round for the offshore Mediterranean area, Daily News Egypt reports.

Khaled Abdel Badie, Chairman of EGAS, said that the areas and other details were currently in the process of approval by the relevant ministries.

The chairman added that the new tenders would include exploration in deep water areas in the Mediterranean, which are believed to hold further untapped reserves, according to the Egyptian government and other stakeholder. New tenders in these areas are a part of the Ministry of Petroleum’s aims to attract new investment in the Egyptian fields – increasing concessions from new reserves, and meeting domestic needs.

At the beginning of 2015, four bids were approved for sections in the Mediterranean Sea, achieving investments of $306m, and additional $10.5m in grants for eight wells drilling and 3D seismic scanning programs. The bids were won by a coalition including BP, IEOC and Total.