The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) aims to launch an oil and gas exploration bid round by the end of this year, a source in the petroleum sector told Daily News Egypt.

The tender is expected to include from eight to 12 concession blocks, including areas in the Western Desert, the Gulf of Suez, and the Eastern Desert, where crude oil might be found.

According to the source, EGPC added incentives to the new exploration agreements to encourage investors, which include the adjustment of the cost recovery period and the share of international oil companies (IOCs) in the production of crude oil from different concession areas across the country.

Furthermore, EGPC is working to increase the productivity of the existing oil fields and the completion of project developments to link them to production and compensate for the natural decline in the productivity of the older fields.

The source revealed that the ministry aims to increase the production of crude oil and condensates to about 700,000 barrels per day during the next fiscal year.